AND 


REPORT 

IN  !<K 

()rx<n;i~fi:ion  iind  .-hiniinistratioii  of  the 
State  G  nt. 


PAR  I     II. 

A  PLAN  OF  ADMINISTRATIVE 
CONSOLIDATION. 


April  15,  1921. 


GRIFFENHAGEN  &  ASSOCIATES,  Ltd. 


STATE  OF  MARYLAND 


REPORT 

IN  RE 

The  Organization  and  Administration  of  the 
State  Government. 


PART  II. 

A  PLAN  OF  ADMINISTRATIVE 
CONSOLIDATION. 


April  IS,  1921. 

GRIFFENHAGEN  &  ASSOCIATES,  Ltd. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PART   II— A   PLAN   OF   ADMINISTRATIVE   CONSOLIDATION 

PAGE 

Letter  of  Transmittal 5 

Summary  Statement  of  the  Existing  Organization  Structure 7 

Table  A — The  Departments,  Offices,  Boards  and  Commissions 
Making  up  the  Organization  of  the  State  Gov- 
ernment   7 

Commissions  for  Special  Purposes 9 

Agencies  Practically  Non-Existent 10 

Table  B— Departments  and  Offices  Headed  by  a  Single  Ex- 
ecutive   11 

Table  C — Boards  and  Commissions 12 

The  Principles  that  should  Underlie  any  Reorganization  Plan 16 

Critical  Comment  on  the  Existing  Administrative  Organization  in 

the  Light  of  these  Principles 16 

Improper  Allocation  of  Functions 16 

Examples  of  Improper  Allocation 17 

Difficulty  of  Comprehending  the  Present  Structure 18 

Lack  of  Unified  Central  Control 18 

The  Weakening  of  Executive  Authority  by  Overlapping 

Terms 19 

Examples  of  lack  of  Statutory  Authority  for  Executive 

Supervision 20 

Lack  of  Means  of  Co-ordination  between  Existing  Agencies.  20 

Need  for  a  Graduated  Plan  for  the  Delegation  of  Authority 21 

Executive  Functions  Vested  in  Boards  and  Commissions 22 

Comparison  between  the  Administrative  Effectiveness  of 

the  Commission  and  the  Single  Executive 23 

Opportunities  for  Centralization  of  Service  Functions  within 

Departments 24 

Summary  Statement  of  the  Proposed  Reorganization  Plan 25 

List  of  Major  Departments 25 

Administrative  and   Internal  Organization  of  the  Proposed 

Departments 26 

Adequate  Compensation  for  Administrative  Officers .' 26 

Advisory  Boards 27 

Proposed  ReAllocation  of  Agencies 28 

Table  D — Proposed  Departments,  Showing  Allocation  of 

Existing  Functions 28 

Table  E — Proposed  Distribution  of  Functions  of  Exisiting 
Executive  Agencies  among  the  Reorganized 

Departments 31 

Description  of  the  Proposed  Departments 35 

I— Executive  Department 35 

II— Department  of  Finance 36 

3 


Ill— Department  of  Law 37 

IV — Department  of  Militia 37 

V— Department  of  Welfare 37 

VI— Department  of  Health 42 

VII — Department  of  Education 43 

VIII— Department  of  Public  Works 45 

IX — Department  of  Commerce 47 

X — Department  of  Labor 50 

XI — Department  of  Employment  and  Registration 52 

Office  of  the  State  Comptroller 54 

Appendix  A — The  Finance  Organization 55 

Appendix  B — Consolidation  Proposals  in  Other  States — Experience 

and  Testimony 61 

Evils  of  Decentralization  of  Authority 61 

Advantages  of  Consolidation 64 

Increased  Authority  for  the  Governor 66 


Chicago,  April  15,  1921. 
HON.  ALBERT  C.  RITCHIE, 
Governor  of  Maryland, 

Annapolis,  Maryland. 
Dear  Sir: 

We  respectfully  submit  herewith  Part  II  of  our  report  on  the  organi- 
zation and  administration  of  the  government  of  Maryland.  This  part 
is  entitled  "A  Plan  of  Administrative  Consolidation."  and  deals  with 
the  structure  of  the  state  government  as  a  whole. 

Yours  faithfully, 

GRIFFENHAGEN  &  ASSOCIATES,  Ltd., 
by  E.  O.  GRIFFENHAGEN, 
Director. 


PART  H 
A  PLAN  OF  ADMINISTRATIVE  CONSOLIDATION 


Sound  organization  and  a  logical  and  workable  distribution 
of  functions  and  delegation  of  authority  are  admittedly  pre- 
requisites to  effective  administrative  control.  That  the  State 
of  Maryland  lacks  these  essentials  and  that  they  can  be  pro- 
vided only  through  a  reorganization  of  its  administrative 
machinery,  is  the  theme  of  this  part  of  the  discussion  of  state 
problems.  The  existing  situation  is  described  and  a  proposal 
for  the  consolidation  of  existing  departments  and  other  agencies 
into  twelve  major  units  is  put  forward. 

SUMMARY   STATEMENT  OF  THE   EXISTING   ORGANIZATION 
STRUCTURE 

The  following  list,  Table  A,  names  the  eighty-five  agencies 
that  make  up  the  state  organization.  The  organization,  func- 
tions, methods,  and  problems  of  each  of  these  units  have  been 
given  careful  consideration.  In  Table  A  the  units  are  arranged 
in  alphabetical  order.  The  figures  regarding  the  number  of 
employes  and  the  annual  appropriation  have  been  secured 
from  the  best  sources  available.  They  are  included  only  as 
data  of  interest  in  indicating  the  relative  sizes  of  the  various 
units  and  not  as  a  basis  for  any  conclusions.  The  organiza- 
tion structure  of  each  agency  is  graphically  presented  in  the 
set  of  charts  submitted  herewith  as  Exhibit  I. 

TABLE  A 

The  Departments,  Offices,  Boards,  and  Commissions  Making   Up  the 
Organization  of  the  State  Government 

A ppropriations  Approximate 

Name  For  Fiscal        Number  of 

Year  1921         Employes 

Adjutant  General's  Office $125,550.00  32 

Agricultural  Lime  Board.  State 0  0 

Aid  and  Charities,  Board  of  State 4,950. 00  2 

Armory  Commission   (Under  Adjt.  Gen- 
eral's Office) 0 

Athletic  Commission,  State 0  3 

Auditor's  Office,  State 14,000. 00  3 

Bank  Commissioner's  Office 27,500.00  11 

Barber  Examiners,  State  Board  of 0  0 

Boiler  Rules,  State  Board  of 0  0 

Chiropody  Examiners,  State  Board  of 0  0 


Name 


Appropriations 
For  Fiscal 
Year  1921 


Chiropractic  Examiners,  State  Board  of..  0 

Claims  Against  the  U.  S.,  Commission  to  -% 

Aid  Citizens  in  Prosecution  of 0 

Comptroller's  Office,  State 30,340.00 

Conservation  Commission  of  Maryland...  287,390.00 

Correction,  House  of 193,318.62 

(Under  Board  of  Prison  Control) 

Crownsville  State  Hospital 123,370.00 

Deaf,  Maryland  School  for  the 48,836.00 

Dental  Examiners,  State  Board  of 0 

Education,  Department  of 57,750. 00 

Eastern  Shore  State  Hospital 125,106 . 19 

Employment  Commission,  State 20,000.00 

Engineers    (Stationary),    State   Board   of 

Examining 0 

Examiners  and  Supervisors,  State  Board 

of  (Electrical  Commission) .'  0 

Executive  Department 97,700.00 

Forestry,  State  Board  of 28,580.00 

Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  State. .  18,672.00 

Health,  State  Department  of 240,000 . 00 

Hay  and  Straw,  Inspectors  of 0 

Homeopathic  Examiners,  State  Board  of..  0 

Horseshoers,  Board  of  Examiners  of 0 

Industrial  Accident  Commission 87,765.00 

Industrial    Training    School    for    Girls, 

Maryland 45,550.00 

Industrial   and  Welfare   Laws,    Commis- 
sion on . . . . : 0 

Insurance  Department,  State 45,150.00 

Insurance  Laws,  Commission  to  Revise. . .  0 

Labor  and  Statistics,  State  Board  of 51,790.00 

Land  Office 17,085.00 

Law  Department  (Attorney  General) 27,315 . 00 

Legislation  Commission,  Uniformity  of...  750.00 

Legislative  Reference  Bureau 3,275.00 

Library  Commission,  Maryland  Public...  4,584.00 

Library,  State 5,800.00 

Library  Committee,  State 1,500.00 

Liquor  License  Commissioners 0 

Lunacy  Commission,  State 5,000.00 

Medical  Examiners,  State  Board  of 0 

Miners'  Hospital. 6,000.00 

Mining  Commission  (to  codify  laws) 0 

Motion  Picture  Censors,  Maryland  State 

Board  of 14,828.00 

Motor  Vehicles,  Commissioner  of 202,270. 00 

Moving      Picture     Machine      Operators, 

Board  of  Examiners  of 0 

Normal  and  Industrial  School,  Maryland.  31,995.00 

(Under  Dept.  of  Education) 

Normal  School  (Towson) 108,755 . 00 

(Under  Dept.  of  Education) 

Normal  School  (Frostburg) 30,100 . 00 

(Under  Dept.  of  Education) 

Nurses,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 0 

Office  Building  Commission,  State 0 

Optometry,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of.  0 

Osteopathic  Examiners,  Board  of 0 


Approximate 
Number  of 
Employes 


0 
12 

108 
44 

36 
47 

0 
12 
34 

4 


0 
8 

204 
8 

115 

2 

0 

0 

36 

18 

0 

14 

0 

25 
11 
9 
0 
3 
2 
3 
0 
2 
2 
0 
14 
0 

5 

100 

0 
10 

32 
11 

1 
0 
0 
0 


Appropriations    Approximate 

Name  For  Fiscal          Number  of 

Year  1921  Employes 

Parole,  Advisory  Board  of 13,300.00  8 

Penitentiary,  State 243,506.49  71 

(Under  Board  of  Prison  Control) 

Pharmacy,  State  Board  of 0  0 

Pine  Bluff  Sanitorium 11,022.00  6 

Plumbing,  Commissioners  of  Practical 0  0 

Prison  Control,  State  Board  of 18,400.00  5 

Public  Accountants,  Board  of  Examiners 

of 0  0 

Public  Buildings  and  Grounds,  Superin- 
tendent of 23,260.00  29 

Public  Service  Commission 119,560.00  37 

Public  Works,  Board  of 55,844.00  0 

Purchasing  Bureau,  Central 15,000. 00  10 

Racing  Commission,  Maryland 20,000.00  2 

Roads  Commission,  State 1,850,900.00  700* 

Rosewood  State  Training  School 164,030. 00  73 

Secretary  of  State's  Office 5,200.00  1 

Soldiers'  Memorial  Commission 0  0 

Springfield  State  Hospital 413,304 . 00  175 

Spring  Grove  State  Hospital 231,494.00  ^ 

Tax  Commission,  State 60,960. 00  21 

Tobacco  Inspector,  State 93,096. 00  43 

Tomatoes,  Weigher  of 0  0 

Training  School  for  Boys,  Maryland 133,620. 00  49 

Treasurer's  Office,  State 19,820.00 

Tuberculosis  Sanitorium,  Maryland 200,620.00  s'.» 

Undertakers,  State  Board  of 0  1 

University    of    Maryland     (All    Depart- 

ments) 508,275 . 00  600 

Veterinary  Medical  Board,  State 0  0 

War  Records  Commission 15,000.00 

Washington  Cemetery,  Trustees  of 0  0 

Weather  Service,  State 1,175.00  1 

Woodcarts,  Measurer  of 0  0 

Workshop  for  the  Blind,  Maryland 16,000. 00  17 

Note:  For  completeness,  the  table  also  includes  the  Maryland  Peni- 
tentiary and  the  House  of  Correction,  which  are  under  the  nominal 
control  of  the  State  Board  of  Prison  Control,  and  the  three  state  nor- 
mal schools  which  are  operated  under  the  Department  of  Education. 

•Includes  an  average  of  250  laborers. 

Commissions  for  Special  Purposes:  The  following  six  com- 
missions were  created  for  special  purposes  and  will  presumably 
pass  out  of  existence  when  they  have  made  reports  to  the 
Legislature: 

Commission  to  aid  citizens  of  the  State  in  the  prosecution  of  valid 

claims  against  the  United  States  (Acts  of  1920). 
Mining  Commission  (Acts  of  1920)— to  investigate  mining  institu- 
tions in  the  State  and  codify  the  mining  laws. 
State  Office  Building  Commission   (Acts  of  1920)— to  study  the 
advisability  of  the  erection  of  a  State  office  building  in  Baltimore. 
Soldiers  Memorial  Commission  (Acts  of  1920)— to  co-operate  with 
other  agencies  in  selecting  a  suitable  memorial  to  veterans  of 
the  Great  War. 

Commission  on  Industrial  and  Welfare  Laws   (Acts  of  1920) — to 
study   industrial  and  welfate  laws  and  make  recommendations. 


Commission  to  Revise  Insurance  Laws  (Acts  of  1920) — to  study  and 
codify  existing  insurance  laws. 

Agencies  Practically  N on-Existent:  Four  of  the  agencies 
listed  in  Table  A  are  practically  extinct, — the  offices  of  Weigher 
of  Tomatoes,  Measurer  of  Woodcarts,  Inspectors  of  Hay  and 
Straw,  and  State  Agricultural  Lime  Board.  Disregarding  the 
six  commissions  which  are  temporary  in  their  nature  and  the 
four  agencies  that  are  practically  non-existent,  there  still  re- 
main seventy-five  independent,  unco-ordinated  agencies  which 
the  Governor,  as  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  state,  is 
expected  to  supervise. 

How  the  Agencies  are  Constituted:  Table  B — "Departments 
and  Offices  Headed  by  a  Single  Executive" — and  Table  C- 
'  'Boards  and  Commissions" — indicate  how  the  seventy-nine 
agencies  (not  including  temporary  commissions)  are  consti- 
tuted. The  manner  of  appointment  of  officials  in  individual 
charge  of  offices  and  their  term  of  office  and  salaries  are  shown 
in  Table  B.  In  the  case  of  boards  and  commissions,  Table  C 
shows  the  total  number  of  members,  how  they  are  appointed, 
their  terms  of  office,  their  salaries,  if  any,  the  number  of  ex- 
officio  members,  and  the  number  of  members  appointed  by  the 
Governor.  It  will  be  noted  that  sixty-seven  out  of  a  total  of 
seventy-nine  establishments,  or  seventy-one  percent,  are  head- 
ed by  boards  or  commissions.  Only  eighteen  offices  are  head- 
ed by  a  single  official. 


10 


TABLE  B 
Departments  and  Offices  Headed  by  a  Single  Executive 


Name 

How  Appointed 

Term  of 
Office 

Salary 

Adjutant  General 

Governor        with 

2  years 

$3000 

Auditor,  State  

Senate     Confir- 
mation 
Board    of    Public 

2  years 

2500 

Bank  Commissioner      

Works 
Board    of    Public 

2  years 

3600 

Comptroller,  State  

Works 
Elected  by  People 

2  years 

2500 

Employment          Commis- 
sioner State 

Governor 

6  years 

5000 

Executive        Department, 
Governor 

Elected  by  People 

4  years 

4500 

Insurance  Commissioner  — 

Inspectors    of    Hay     and 
Straw  

Board    of    Public 
Works 

Governor 

4  years 
2  years 

3600 
Fees 

Land  Office,  Commissioner 
of  .                           .... 

Governor        with 

4  years 

2100 

Law  Department,  Attorney 
General  

Senate     Confir- 
mation 

Elected  by  People 

4  years 

5000 

*Librarian,  State  

Governor        with 

4  yean 

1500 

Motor   Vehicles,   Commis- 
sioner of  

Senate     Confir- 
mation 

Governor        with 

3  years 

4000 

Public       Buildings       and 
Grounds,  Superintendent 
oi  ...             

Senate     Confir- 
mation 

Governor 

4  years 

1500 

Secretary  of  State  

Governor         with 

2  years 

2000 

'     Tobacco  Inspector,  State.  .  . 
Tomatoes,  Weigher  of 

Senate     Confir- 
mation 
Governor 
Governor 

Indefinite 
2  years 

4000 
1000 

Treasurer,  State  

Elected  by  Legis- 

2 years 

2500 

Woodcarts,  Measurer  of  

lature 
Governor 

2  years 

Fees 

*  The  State  Librarian  is  responsible  in  part 
Committee,  shown  under  Executive  Boards  and 


to  the  State  Library 
Commissions. 


11 


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THE  PRINCIPLES  THAT  SHOULD  UNDERLIE  ANY  REORGANIZATION 

PLAX 

The  present  structure  of  the  administrative  machinery  of 
the  state  may  be  judged  by  certain  fundamental  principles  of 
organization.  A  statement  of  these  criteria  and  an  appraisal 
of  the  existing  scheme  of  organization  in  the  light  of  such 
standards  will  indicate  the  possibilities  of  improvement  and 
will  serve  as  a  supporting  argument  for  the  reorganization 
proposals  presented  in  this  report. 

First:  The  allocation  of  state  functions  to  major  departments 
should  be  along  natural  and  practical  lines  that  will  bring  together 
those  activities  that  relate  to  the  same  subject  matter  and  that  can 
be  handled  by  the  same  staffs. 

Second:  There  should  be  a  strong  unifying  central  control  and 
direction  of  the  entire  administrative  organization  and  of  each  branch 
and  sub-division.  The  chief  executive,  the  Governor,  should  be  fully 
responsible  for  the  administrative  work  of  the  state,  and  should  have 
the  authority  and  the  means  of  control  commensurate  with  this  re- 
sponsibility. Unified  control  also  demands  the  establishment  of  a 
means  of  contact  and  co-ordination  between  the  various  organization 
units. 

Third:  The  plan  of  delegation  of  authority  should  provide  for  a 
progressive  separation  of  executive  and  routine  functions,  and  should 
limit  the  number  of  officers  at  any  point  in  the  scale  of  authority  to 
those  who  can  be  adequately  directed  and  supervised  by  the  official  of 
the  next  higher  rank.  Responsibility  and  commensurate  authority, 
both  original  and  delegated,  should  in  every  case  be  definitely  and 
positively  placed. 

Fourth:  Functions  which  are  purely  executive  should  not  be  vested 
in  boards  or  commissions,  and,  conversely,  advisory  and  policy-formu- 
lating functions  should,  wherever  practicable,  be  left  to  boards  or 
councils,  and  not  to  a  single  official.  The  first  consideration  is  essential 
to  effectiveness  of  administration  and  the  second  is  an  antidote  for 
bureaucracy. 

Fifth:  The  service  functions  in  any  unit  of  organization,  that  is, 
such  routine  activities  as  are  required  in  carry  ing  out  the  main  pur- 
poses of  an  administrative  unit,  should  be  centralized  and  consolidated 
for  each  major  department  as  far  as  practicable,  and  methods  of  pro- 
cedure should  be  standardized  within  each  unit.  By  this  it  is  meant 
that  such  commonly  necessary  operations  as  accounting,  record- 
keeping,  filing,  and  handling  supplies  should  ordinarily  each  be  taken 
care  of  by  one  office  for  the  entire  department  and  not  scattered  among 
the  various  divisions. 

* 

CRITICAL  COMMENT  OX  THE  EXISTING  ADMINISTRATIVE    ORGANI- 
ZATION  IN   THE   LIGHT   OF   THESE    PRINCIPLES 

First — Improper  Allocation  of  Functions:  The  absence  of  a 
consistent  policy  on  the  part  of  the  Legislature  in  the  establish- 
ment of  new  administrative  agencies  required  to  care  for  the 
rapid  extension  of  public  activities  in  the  last  few  decades  has 
resulted  in  the  existence  of  eighty-five  agencies  which  are 
practically  unco-ordinated.  Whenever  the  General  Assembly 
determined  that  the  state  should  engage  upon  some  new  func- 
tion a  new  independent  unit  was  usually  set  up  to  care  for  the 
new  activity,  rather  than  attaching  it  to  an  existing  agency. 

16 


Thus  the  first  principle  of  good  organization,  that  the  alloca- 
tion of  functions  should  be  made  to  major  departments  along 
natural  lines,  has  been  violated. 

One  of  the  criticisms  that  is  universally  made  of  govern- 
mental machines  that  have  been  built  up  in-other  states  to  meet 
the  need  for  the  increasing  interest  of  the  state  in  the  affairs  of 
its  citizens  is  that  overlapping  and  duplication  are  common. 
That  this  should  be  a  prevalent  condition  is  not  surprising, 
as  measures  providing  for  the  initiation  or  extension  of  govern- 
mental activity  have  in  many  cases  been  passed  by  the  legisla- 
tive branch  without  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  administrative 
problems  involved.  The  overlapping  and  duplication  of  admin- 
istrative agencies  in  Maryland,  however,  is  not,  as  in  many 
other  states,  the  most  serious  criticism  of  the  state  govern- 
ment. The  important  consideration  in  Maryland  is  the  ab- 
sence of  a  proper  grouping  or  relationship  of  administrative 
agencies,  rather  than  a  duplication  of  effort.  No  compre- 
hensive definite  plan  or  outline  of  organization  has  ever  been 
submitted  to  the  General  Assembly  to  provide  for  a  logical 
growth  and  expansion  of  the  government  of  the  state  which 
would  make  it  possible  to  attach  new  services  to  existing  agen- 
cies without  unnecessary  duplication  of  the  overhead  admin- 
istrative machinery. 

The  State  of  Maryland  has  not  been  alone  among  the  states 
in  its  wholesale  creation  of  independent  executive  agencies, 
particularly  boards  and  commissions.  Until  recently  Massa- 
chusetts had  two  hundred  and  sixteen  practically  independent 
agencies,  while  Illinois  had  more  than  one  hundred.  In  both 
of  these  states  consolidation  has  since  been  effected.  The  State 
of  New  York  at  the  present  time  has  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  unrelated  executive  agencies,  California  one  hundred  and 
nine,  while  Delaware  has  one  hundred  and  three.  Consolida- 
tion programs  have  been  placed  before  the  legislatures  of  these 
states. 

Examples  of  Improper  Allocation:  A  study  of  Table  A  brings 
out  some  of  the  inconsistencies  in  the  present  arrangement  and 
shows  that  little  effort  has  been  made  to  bring  related  units 
together.  In  other  words,  there  has  been  no  functional  accre- 
tion of  offices  and  commissions. 

The  existence  of  the  State  Board  of  Labor  and  Statistics 
and  the  State  Industrial  Accident  Commission,  both  of  which 
are  concerned  with  labor  problems,  furnishes  an  example  of 
functions  exercised  by  independent  boards  which  should  have 
been  co-ordinated  originally,  and  which  should  properly  be 
brought  into  a  major  administrative  department.  Perhaps 
the  most  striking  example  of  the  lack  of  a  centralized  alloca- 
tion of  state  functions  is  shown  by  the  eighteen  distinct  boards 
engaged  in  examining  and  licensing  various  trades  and  profes- 

17 


sions.  There  is  no  relationship  between  them  and  no  standards 
have  been  followed  in  their  establishment  either  as  to  size,  the 
license  fees  charged,  their  operating  procedure,  or  the  terms  of 
office  or  method  of  appointment  of  their  members. 

The  management  of  the  various  institutions  of  the  state  has 
not  been  properly  co-ordinated,  separate  boards  of  managers 
having  been  established  for  most  of  them.  Although  a  loose 
kind  of  functional  grouping  of  the  insane  asylums  has  been 
achieved  by  the  establishment  of  the  State  Lunacy  Commis- 
sion, there  is  no  affiliation  between  these  institutions  and  the 
penal  and  reformatory  institutions.  The  State  Board  of 
Prison  Control  and  the  State  Lunacy  Commission,  both  of  the 
nature  of  clearing  houses,  have  been  inadequate  for  the  most 
part  to  provide  unity  and  consistency  in  administrative  policies 
and  methods.  Ten  distinct  agencies  have  been  created  to 
regulate  private  business  enterprises  in  the  state  or  to  furnish 
a  service  for  business  interests,  yet  little  thought  has  been 
given  to  affiliating  these  agencies  within  a  central  department 
of  commerce.  A  smaller  number  of  offices  and  commissions 
are  concerned  with  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
public  buildings  and  highways  and  function  quite  independently 
of  each  other,  whereas  they  would  operate  more  effectively 
within  a  department  of  public  works. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  several  unrelated  agencies  were  engaged 
in  enforcing  the  fish  and  game  laws  of  the  state.  Following  the 
recommendations  of  the  Efficiency  and  Economy  Commission, 
these  agencies  were  combined  into  the  Conservation  Commis- 
sion by  the  General  Assembly,  that  body  thus  recognizing  the 
growing  tendency  in  the  direction  of  centralized  administrative 
control  and  functional  organization. 

Difficulty  of  Comprehending  the  Present  Structure:  The  mul- 
tiplication of  executive  agencies  in  the  state  not  only  tends  to 
result  in  duplication  of  effort  and  to  involve  the  state  in  too 
great  an  administrative  or  "overhead"  expense  but  also  makes 
it  exceedingly  difficult  for  the  public  and  the  General  Assembly 
to  comprehend  the  present  structure.  Citizens  desiring  to 
take  up  matters  with  the  State  government  are  bewildered. 
It  is  difficult,  moreover,  for  the  Legislature  to  grasp  the  rela- 
tive costs  and  results  achieved  by  the  major  services  of  the 
state  government,  because  appropriations  for  related  units  are 
not  grouped  together  in  the  budget.  Unless  the  related  ad- 
ministrative agencies  are  affiliated  and  appropriations  for  them 
made  on  this  basis,  it  is  obviously  impossible  for  the  General 
Assembly  to  compare  appropriations  for  specific  purposes. 

Second — Lack  of  Unified  Central  Control:  An  organization 
made  up  of  eighty-five  individual  units  engaged  in  administer- 
ing the  executive  functions  of  the  state  can  not  only  lay  no 
claims  to  simplicity  but  can  not  be  properly  controlled.  Ade- 
quate supervision  of  the  activities  of  all  of  these  agencies  by  a 
single  individual,  the  Governor,  is  a  physical  impossibility. 

18 


The  small  size  of  many  of  the  agencies  is  in  itself  a  factor 
making  consistent  supervision  difficult.  The  problem  of  effec- 
tive control  and  supervision  is  further  aggravated  in  that 
dozens  of  kinds  of  activities  are  involved,  ranging  from  the 
licensing  of  undertakers  and  plumbers  on  the  one  hand  to  the 
solution  of  intricate  and  far  reaching  problems  of  finance  and 
taxation  on  the  other. 

An  examination  of  the  table  of  boards  and  commissions, 
Table  C,  discloses  that  in  the  case  of  only  thirty  such  agencies, 
or  one-half,  are  the  members  appointed  by  the  Governor  upon 
his  own  authority.  Even  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  these,  his 
choice  is  restricted  by  legislation  which  requires  that  ap- 
pointees to  the  board  in  question  must  meet  certain  require- 
ments. For  example,  the  law  provides  that  members  of  the 
Board  of  the  Eastern  Shore  State  Hospital  must  be  selected 
from  residents  of  the  Eastern  Shore  counties.  Such  require- 
ments may  be  sound  in  principle,  yet  they  illustrate  the  ten- 
dency to  restrict  the  authority  of  the  executive. 

The  Governor  has  partial  appointive  authority  in  the  case  of 
ten  boards  whose  members  are  appointed  by  him  subject  to  the 
confirmation  of  the  Senate.  In  the  case  of  four  boards  the 
Governor  must  make  his  appointments  from  nominations  sub- 
mitted to  him  by  outside  agencies,  such  as  trade  associations 
or  professional  societies.  Seven  of  the  boards  are  composed  of 
ex-officio  members  entirely  and  nearly  one-half  of  them  have 
some  ex-officio  members,  over  whom  the  Governor  usually  has 
little  or  no  control.  The  Governor  makes  no  appointments 
whatsoever  in  the  case  of  eleven  boards  which  are  largely 
ex-officio.  In  the  case  of  four  of  the  commissions  the  appoint- 
ing authority  is  not  vested  in  the  Governor  at  all  but  is  in  the 
hands  of  private  outside  agencies,  such  as  the  Medical  and 
Chirurgical  Faculty,  which  appoints  the  members  of  the  State 
Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  and  the  State  Homeopathic 
Medical  Society,  which  appoints  the  Board  of  Homeopathic 
Examiners. 

In  comparatively  few  cases  has  the  Governor  been  given  full 
power  to  remove  members  of  boards  not  in  sympathy  with  his 
policies,  or  even  those  whose  conduct  he  feels  does  not  conform 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  state. 

The  Weakening  of  Executive  Authority  by  Overlapping  Terms: 
It  will  be  noted  from  Table  B  that  in  the  case  of  twenty-two 
boards — one-third  of  the  entire  number — provision  has  been 
made  by  law  for  overlapping  terms  of  appointment.  This 
state  of  affairs  makes  it  almost  impossible  for  the  Governor  to 
obtain  the  loyal  support  from  these  various  boards  and  com- 
missions which  he  must  have  if  his  policies  and  his  ideals  are 
to  be  carried  out  during  his  administration.  Consider,  for 
example,  the  boards  of  managers  of  the  various  state  institutions. 
Members  of  most  of  these  boards  serve  for  six-year  terms  while 

19 


the  number  of  members  averages  nine.  During  his  four-year 
term  of  office  the  Governor  may,  if  the  law  provides  that  he 
shall  appoint  one  member  every  year .  make  a  maximum  num- 
ber of  four  appointments.  Thus  even  at  the  end  of  four  years 
he  is  not  yet  responsible  for  the  appointment  of  a  majority  of 
a  board  of  nine  members.  In  some  cases  he  is  authorized  to 
make  an  appointment  only  once  every  two  years  so  that  two 
members  only  would  be  appointed  by  him  on  such  a  commission. 

Examples  of  Lack  of  Statutory  Authority  for  Executive  Super- 
vision: In  many  cases  the  state  law  neither  provides  nor  per- 
mits any  current  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  chief  executive, 
even  if  he  had  the  time  to  supervise  the  activities  of  the  various 
departments,  boards,  and  commissions.  No  real  executive  con- 
trol can,  of  course,  be  exercised  over  the  elective  officials  of  the 
state, — the  State  Comptroller,  the  Attorney  General,  and  the 
State  Treasurer,  the  last  of  whom  is  elected  by  the  Legislature. 
These  elective  officials  might  conceivably  be  completely  out  of 
accord  with  the  policies  of  the  Governor,  particularly  if  they 
happen  to  be  of  another  political  party.  In  a  number  of  cases 
the  statutes  have  not  provided  for  any  genuine  control  over  a 
given  office  even  though  the  Governor  originally  makes  an 
appointment  to  the  office  in  question.  For  example,  no  pro- 
vision is  made  in  the  statutes  relating  to  the  State  Tobacco 
Inspector  for  any  reports  to  be  made  to  the  Governor  indicating 
the  success  or  failure  of  the  operations  of  the  State  Tobacco 
Warehouses.  The  Board  of  Electrical  Examiners  and  Super- 
visors is  not  required  to  report  to  any  state  official/  either  the 
Governor  or  the  State  Comptroller.  The  medical  examining 
boards  are  also  in  this  category. 

The  decentralization  of  the  governmental  structure  in  itself 
makes  it  almost  impossible  to  obtain  a  check  on  the  activities 
of  the  state  agencies  that  are  required  to  submit  reports  to  the 
Governor.  These  reports  cannot  be  examined  and  checked 
because  the  Governor  has  no  staff  which  can  assume  the  super- 
vision required.  Under  the  present  arrangement,  unless  in- 
efficiency or  indifference  in  one  of  the  departments  becomes  so 
flagrant  that  it  cannot  escape  notice  such  a  matter  may  never 
reach  the  attention  of  the  chief  executive. 

Lack  of  Means  of  Co-ordination  between  Agencies:  Another 
point  in  which  the  present  structure  of  the  state  government 
fails  to  comply  with  the  principle  of  unified  central  control  is 
the  present  lack  of  proper  relationship  and  co-ordination  be- 
tween the  eighty-five  scattered  units.  The  Miners'  Hospital, 
located  in  Frostburg  away  from  the  center  of  state  activity 
in  Baltimore,  is  an  illustration  of  this  condition.  The  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  hospital  is  exceedingly  anxious  to  receive 
the  co-operation  and  assistance  of  other  state  officials  but  the 
institution  has  for  years  been  practically  isolated  from  any 
intimate  interest  on  the  part  of  the  state  administration. 

20 


Personal  contact  with  the  Board  of  State  Aid  and  Charities 
has  been  infrequent,  and  valuable  assistance  in  connection 
with  the  accounting  work  of  the  institution  which  might  have 
been  furnished  has  never  been  forthcoming.  Under  more 
centralized  control,  the  geographical  handicap  in  this  instance 
would  be  largely  overcome. 

This  is  true  to  a  lesser  extent  in  the  case  of  most  of  the  state 
institutions.  There  has  been  little  effective  relationship  be- 
tween the  administration  of  the  University  of  Maryland  and 
the  State  Department  of  Education,  the  absence  of  such  co- 
ordination being  of  particular  importance  in  making  it  impos- 
sible for  the  Legislature  and  the  Governor  to  view  the  entire 
education  problem  of  the  state  as  a  whole.  While  in  some  cases 
controlling  agencies  partaking  of  the  functions  of  a  clearing 
house  have  been  created,  notably  in  the  establishment  of  the 
State  Board  of  Prison  Control  and  the  State  Lunacy  Commis- 
sion, these  agencies  have  not  provided  the  organizational  facil- 
ities which  would  make  possible  an  interchange  of  experience 
and  information  among  the  institutions  under  their  control  and 
which  would  tend  to  standardize  and  simplify  their  adminis- 
tration. Had  there  been  proper  co-ordination  between  these 
two  agencies  the  recent  disagreement  between  them  over  the 
custody  of  the  criminally  insane  would  not  have  occurred. 

Occasionally  conferences  of  groups  of  state  officials  concerned 
in  the  solution  of  a  common  problem  are  called  by  the  Governor 
but  these  meetings  have  necessarily  been  all  too  infrequent. 
There  is  no  provision  for  periodic  meetings  of  groups  of  the 
more  important  state  officials,  tending  to  develop  consistency 
and  uniformity  in  administrative  policies,  such  as  would  result 
from  the  establishment  of  a  "cabinet"  made  up  of  the  heads  of 
the  major  departments  of  the  state  government.  A  re-group- 
ing of  the  executive  agencies  and  a  further  reorganization  into 
functional  sub-divisions  would  also  make  possible  occasional 
conferences  of  minor  supervisory  officials.  Such  conferences 
would  ensure  co-operation  between  like  services,  which  is  at  the 
present  time  extremely  difficult  and  ofttimes  impossible  to 
secure,  and  would  provide  the  machinery  for  standardization 
of  office  practice  and  procedure.  The  establishment  of  definite 
standards  throughout  the  state  government  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  files,  accounts,  and  personnel  and  stores  records,  for 
example,  would  eventually  result  in  expediting  the  operations 
of  the  various  departments,  make  for  simplification  of  adminis- 
trative procedure,  and  for  savings  in  expenditures. 

Third — Need  for  a  Graduated  Plan  for  the  Delegation  of 
Authority:  The  third  principle  of  organization  which  should 
be  considered  in  connection  with  any  reorganization  plan  is 
concerned  with  delegation  of  authority,  and  supplements  the 
principle  of  unified  central  control.  Any  proper  plan  for  a 
separation  of  executive  and  routine  functions  and  a  delegation 

21 


of  authority  should  provide  that  relatively  few  branch  chiefs 
report  directly  to  an  administrative  officer.  Adequate  control 
requires  a  number  of  ' 'middle-men"  or  intermediate  supervisory 
officials.  The  most  striking  illustration  of  how  authority 
should  not  be  delegated  is  furnished  in  the  present  organization 
of  the  state  government  which  calls  for  the  theoretical  super- 
vision of  the  Governor  over  eighty-five  units.  This  situation 
has  already  been  commented  on  in  connection  with  the  lack  of 
administrative  control  which  it  creates.  Any  business  or  com- 
mercial organization  which  proposed  to  hold  a  single  individual 
responsible  for  the  work  of  four  score  unrelated  divisions  or 
even  for  a  group  of  eighty-five  employes  engaged  in  widely 
varying  work  would  be  foredoomed  to  failure.  In  any  ordi- 
nary business  office  it  is  found  that  there  must  be  at  least  one 
supervisor  for  approximately  every  fifteen  employes,  even 
though  these  employes  are  engaged  upon  the  same  kind  of  work. 

The  mine  inspection  service  of  the  Board  of  Labor  and  Stat- 
tistics  is  an  example  of  how  a  small  sub-division  has  been  unable 
to  function  effectively  because  of  the  lack  of  intermediate  super- 
vision. There  have  been  few  other  opportunities  for  violating 
this  principle  of  organization  in  connection  with  the  present 
governmental  structure,  largely  because  of  its  greatly  decen- 
tralized nature.  In  planning  a  reorganization  of  the  state 
government,  however,  the  number  of  branches  reporting  to 
an  administrative  officer  and  the  number  of  intermediate 
supervisory  officers  must  receive  careful  attention. 

Fourth — Executive  Functions  Vested  in  Boards  and  Com- 
missions: Attention  has  been  called  to  the  requirement  that 
purely  executive  functions  should  not  be  vested  in  boards  or 
commisions.  That  Maryland  is  at  present  governed  largely 
by  commissions  is  disclosed  by  a  study  of  Table  C  which  shows 
that  there  are  sixty-six  permanent  state  agencies  headed  by 
commissions,  as  compared  with  fifteen  headed  by  a  single 
individual. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  state  Constitution  pro- 
vides for  but  one  commission,  the  Board  of  Public  Works.  On 
the  other  hand  it  provides  for  a  number  of  offices  to  be  headed 
by  a  single  official.  Boards  and  commissions  were,  in  fact,  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution,  those  in  existence  at  that  time  being  almost 
entirely  boards  of  visitors  for  various  state  institutions.  With 
the  subsequent  extension  of  the  activities  of  state  government, 
the  commission  form  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  normal,  natural 
type  of  executive  agency.  Commissions  were  created  not  only 
for  quas-judicial  or  sub-legislative  functions  but  for  purely 
administrative  ends.  The  State  Roads  Commission,  for  ex- 
ample, is  purely  an  executive  agency.  Nevertheless,  three 
men  were  placed  at  its  head  instead  of  one.  When  the  boards 
of  managers  of  the  State  Penitentiary  and  the  House  of  Cor- 

22 


rection  were  abolished,  another  commission,  the  State  Board  of 
Prison  Control,  was  established  to  carry  on  the  administrative 
functions  of  the  previous  boards. 

In  recent  years,  however,  there  has  been  a  disposition  on  the 
part  of  the  General  Assembly  to  return  to  the  "one  man"  type 
of  administration.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  office 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Motor  Vehicles  and  the  provision  for 
the  appointment  of  a  single  Employment  Commissioner.  The 
civil  service  of  most  other  governmental  bodies  is  in  fact 
administered  by  a  commission,  so  that  the  action  of  Maryland 
in  this  regard  is  in  advance  of  most  other  states  and  cities. 
Another  recent  example  of  legislative  action  is  furnished  by  the 
Central  Purchasing  Bureau,  in  which  executive  responsibility  is 
practically  centered  in  the  State  Purchasing  Agent,  the  func- 
tions of  the  board  provide!!  being  largely  of  an  advisory  nature. 

No  consistent  policy  has  been  followed  in  the  creation  of 
boards  either  as  to  the  number  of  members  provided  or  their 
term  of  office.  The  membership  ranges  from  two  to  thirty, 
twenty  of  the  boards  having  three  members,  twenty-five  have 
less  than  five  members,  twenty-six  from  five  to  ten  members, 
and  eight,  ten  or  more  members.  The  term  of  office  of  the 
members  of  the  various  boards  and  commissions  ranges  from 
two  to  nine  years. 

The  salaries  of  board  members  range  from  nothing  at  all,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  boards  of  managers  of  charitable  institutions, 
to  $6,000  a  year  in  the  case  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Public  Ser- 
vice Commission  and  of  the  Chairman  of  the  State  Tax  Com- 
mission. Members  of  thirty-three  boards  are  unsalaried  while 
members  of  sixteen  others,  largely  vocational  examining  agen- 
cies, receive  a  per  diem  fee  ranging  from  five  to  fifteen  dollars 
for  attendance  at  board  meetings.  In  the  case  of  only  six 
boards  is  the  salary  large  enough  to  be  attractive  to  individuals 
of  the  desired  business  ability — the  compensation  for  members 
of  these  boards  being  $3,000  or  more. 

Comparison  between  the  Administrative  Effectiveness  of  the 
Commission  and  the  Single  Executive:  Numerous  factors  enter 
into  an  appraisal  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  work  of  the  various 
departments  of  the  state  government,  only  one  of  them  being 
the  type  of  organization  involved.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible 
to  demonstrate  such  a  general  assertion  as  that  those  agencies 
headed  by  commissions  have  been  less  successful  than  those 
headed  by  a  single  official.  Nevertheless,  it  is  more  than  prob : 
able  that  where  effective  administrative  work  has  been  accom- 
plished by  boards  or  commissions,  it  has  been  achieved  in  spite 
of,  rather  than  as  a  result  of,  that  type  of  organization,  and 
that  still  better  results  would  have  been  attained  if  responsi- 
bility had  been  definitely  centered  on  a  single  individual. 

Executive  boards  have  sometimes  been  handicapped  in  the 
execution  of  their  work  because  all  members  have  taken  an 

23 


active  part  in  its  direction.  Executive  action  has  often  been 
postponed  because  of  the  absence  of  one  or  more  members  and 
definiteness  of  policy  has  at  times  become  impossible  because 
of  differences  of  opinion.  In  fact,  those  commissions  whose 
members  have  for  the  most  part  left  the  direction  of  adminis- 
trative affairs  to  their  chairmen  have  proved  to  be  the  most 
successful.  The  willingness  of  members  of  the  State  Roads 
Commission  and  the  Conservation  Commission  to  impose  re- 
sponsibility upon  their  respective  chairmen  appears  to  be 
largely  responsible  for  the  success  of  their  work.  The  work 
of  the  Board  of  Labor  and  Statistics  is  another  illustration  of 
this  kind. 

In  the  case  of  some  commissions  whose  members  receive  com- 
pensation, no  definite  delegation  of  authority  or  supervision 
over  a  particular  branch  of  activity-  has  been  made  to  indi- 
vidual members,  and  the  latter  have  at  times  found  difficulty 
in  finding  enough  to  do  to  justify  their  salaries.  In  the  case 
of  unpaid  boards,  it  has  been  assumed  that  since  the  members 
received  no  compensation,  they  were  not  expected  to  devote 
any  particular  amount  of  time  to  the  work  of  the  boards  in 
question,  and  the  administrative  responsibility  has  generally 
been  assumed  by  a  secretary  or  other  administrative  officer. 
Occasionally  one  or  two  members  of  unpaid  boards  are  able  to 
assume  an  active  interest  in  the  board's  affairs,  their  personal 
aggressiveness  and  initiative  being  largely  responsible  for  its 
success. 

The  vocational  examining  boards  furnish  a  somewhat  different 
illustration  of  the  failure  of  the  commission  form  as  an  adminis- 
trative agency.  Most  of  them  have  neither  offices  nor  em- 
ployes, and  it  is  difficult  for  license  applicants  to  locate  them. 
Many  of  them  keep  no  files  or  records  of  consequence  and  their 
activity  is  generally  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  time  and 
interest  which  their  secretaries  can  devote  to  their  work.  All 
of  these  boards  are  dependent  upon  the  fees  they  collect  and  a 
number  of  them  live  from  hand  to  mouth  in  a  chronic  state  of 
insolvency.  While  a  board  may  be  necessary  in  holding  ex- 
aminations, the  administrative  functions  of  these  agencies 
have  been  woefully  neglected  because  of  this  type  of  organi- 
zation. 

In  the  direction  of  institutional  affairs,  the  need  for  a  com- 
mission form  of  organization  has  been  materially  lessened  by 
the  establishment  of  the  State  Employment  Commission. 
Boards  of  managers  of  these  institutions  are  thus  relieved  of 
their  personnel  work,  which  formerly  constituted  one  of  their 
chief  functions.  These  boards  may  now  well  be  abolished 
together  with  .other  executive  commissions  of  the  state  govern- 
ment. 

Fifth — Opportunities  for  Centralization  of  Service  Functions 
Within  Departments:  Under  the  present  scheme  of  state  or- 

24 


ganization  each  of  the  independent  units  is,  of  course,  required 
to  maintain  its  own  accounting,  record  keeping,  filing,  and 
storekeeping  staff.  Under  a  program  of  administrative  con- 
solidation of  executive  establishments  a  grouping  of  some  of 
these  administrative  service  functions  within  each  of  the  major 
departments  could  be  effected  to  advantage.  Within  a  De- 
partment of  Public  Welfare,  for  example,  concerned  with  the 
management  of  charitable  and  correctional  institutions,  all 
financial  and  accounting  functions  could  be  administered  by  a 
branch  chief  reporting  to  the  director  of  the  department.  The 
centering  of  service  functions  within  the  reorganized  depart- 
ments will  not  only  make  for  more  effective  administration 
but  also  will  result  in  considerable  economies. 

The  modern  tendency  toward  a  functional  grouping  of  activi- 
ties in  state  governments  is  evidenced  in  Maryland  by  the  recent 
establishment  of  the  State  Employment  Commission.  The 
function  of  employment,  common  to  all  departments  and  in- 
stitutions, has  been  centralized  with  the  result  that  these 
agencies  are  relieved  of  administrative  detail  in  this  connec- 
tion and  are  free  to  perform  far  more  effective  work  in  their 
own  specialized  fields.  To  point  out  the  advantages  of  a  logi- 
cal grouping  and  distribution  of  functions  in  an  organization 
is  merely  to  express  in  another  way  the  present-day  tendency 
toward  specialization  in  all  fields  of  human  endeavor. 

SUMMARY  STATEMENT  OF  THE  PROPOSED  REORGANIZATION    PLAN 

The  following  proposal  for  the  organization  of  the  adminis- 
trative branches  of  the  state  government  is  put  forward  as  a 
concrete,  plan  for  the  correction  of  the  weaknesses  and  in- 
efficiencies of  the  existing  organization  and  for  the  supplying 
of  those  prerequisites  upon  which  an  effective  management  of 
the  state's  affairs  must  depejid.  It  provides  for  the  allocation 
of  all  state  functions,  with  a  few  exceptions,  to  eleven  major 
departments  and  an  independent  office  of  audit  and  control. 
It  proposes  the  establishment  of  advisory  councils  for  eight  of 
these  departments  and  the  tying-in  of  certain  existing  execu- 
tive boards  with  appropriate  bureaus  or  branches  of  the 
proposed  departments. 

The  plan  rests  in  part  in  the  short  ballot  principle  in  that  it 
proposes  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  elective  officials.     In 
order  to  establish  the  plan  in  its  final  form  and  make  possible 
the  appointment  of  the  Attorney-General  and  the  Director  of 
Finance  (who  would  supplant  the  present  State  Treasurer)  by 
the  Governor,  the  adoption  of  constitutional  amendments  will 
be  necessary.     The  departments  proposed  are  as  follows: 
I — Executive  Department 
II — Department  of  Finance 
III — Department  of  Law 
IV — Department  of  Militia 
25 


V — Department  of  Welfare 
VI — Department  of  Health 
VII — Department  of  Education 
VIII— Department  of  Public  Works 
IX — Department  of  Commerce 
X — Department  of  Labor 

XI — Department  of  Employment  and  Registration 
Office  of  the  State  Comptroller 

Administrative  and  Internal  Organization  of  the  Proposed 
Departments:  Each  major  department  is  to  be  made  up  of  one 
or  more  bureaus  and  an  administrative  office.  The  latter 
would  concentrate  the  administrative  service  work  for  the 
department  as  a  whole  and  would  have  general  control  and 
supervision  over  the  preparation  of  departmental  estimates 
and  over  expenditures,  cost  accounting,  and  reports.  For 
most  departments  this  office  would  keep  the  controlling  ac- 
counts of  the  entire  department,  prepare  accounting  statements 
and  reports,  supervise  the  collection  of  revenues  if  any,  and 
make  all  disbursements.  It  would  be  under  the  supervision  of 
the  department  director  and  in  direct  charge  of  a  chief  clerk. 

The  principal  policy-determining  and  administrative  officer 
for  each  department  would  be  a  "  Director"  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  removable  at  pleasure.  The  eleven  directors 
would  all  be  members  of  the  Governor's  cabinet.  They  would 
be  fully  responsible  to  him  and  he  in  turn,  because  of  the  close 
supervision  thus  made  possible,  would  become  a  chief  executive 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  term. 

There  would  be  one  or  more  "permanent"  executive  officers 
in  each  department,  one  at  the  head  of  each  bureau.  The 
bureau  chiefs  could  be  given  the  title  of  assistant  director, 
deputy  director,  or  chief  of  bureau,  although  it  might  be  pref- 
erable to  retain  the  term  Commissioner,  because  of  its  extensive 
use  in  the  present  organization.  The  positions  of  the  heads 
of  the  various  bureaus  should  be  placed  in  the  classified  service 
of  the  state  and  they  should  be  removable  only  for  cause  as 
provided  in  the  Merit  System  Law.  They  would  be  the  per- 
manent expert  executive  heads  as  distinguished  from  the  ordi- 
narily transient  policy-making  appointees  of  the  chief  execu- 
tive of  the  state. 

Adequate  Compensation  for  Administrative  Officers:  Commis- 
sioners at  the  head  of  the  various  bureaus  should  be  full-time 
officials  and  adequately  paid.  The  state  must  compete  to  some 
extent  with  private  business  enterprise  by  paying  adequate 
salaries  if  it  is  to  interest  competent  and  experienced  business 
executives  in  the  public  service.  Their  appointment  must 
naturally  be  safeguarded  by  qualification  requirements  of  a 
high  order. 

With  regard  to  the  compensation  of  the  directors  of  the  major 
departments,  there  are  two  alternative  policies  to  be  considered. 

26 


Either  the  state  may  take  the  course  of  apparent  economy  and 
not  expect  full-time  service  and,  therefore,  not  provide  sufficient 
salary  to  secure  men  giving  their  services  exclusively  to  the 
state,  or  it  may  adopt  the  course  that  has  been  generally  re- 
commended in  connection  with  consolidation  programs  in 
other  states  and  provide  adequate  salaries  for  the  directors. 
The  first  course  could  probably  be  justified  on  the  ground  that 
by  providing  adequate  compensation  for  the  permanent  heads 
of  bureaus,  expert  direction  of  routine  work  will  be  insured  and 
full-time  attention  to  departmental  affairs  on  the  part  of  the 
policy-making  heads  need  not  be  demanded.  This  course 
would  further  have  the  apparent  advantage  of  an  economy  in 
salary-overhead.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  state's  business 
grows,  and  even  at  this  time  in  the  case  of  the  larger  depart- 
ments, it  is  doubtful  whether  such  a  course  would  be  a  truly 
economical  one.  Economies  that  should  result  through  effec- 
tive supervision  and  close  control  of  departmental  affairs  by 
thoroughly  competent  directors  who  devote  full-time  to  their 
offices  would  far  exceed  the  salary  cost.  In  any  event  thor- 
oughly qualified  men  must  be  secured  as  directors. 

Advisory  Boards:  In  conjunction  with  the  eleven  executive 
departments  and  the  independent  auditing  office  it  is  proposed 
to  establish  certain  advisory  boards  or  councils  whose  function 
it  would  be  to  advise  administrative  officials  and  to  assist  in 
the  formulation  of  policies.  Each  of  these  boards  would  be  an 
integral  part  of  a  departmental  organization,  but  it  is  not 
intended  that  it  should  have  any  active  part  in  administration. 
It  should  serve  a  useful  purpose,  however,  in  situations  where 
the  judgment  of  more  than  one  person  is  valuable,  and  where 
the  opinions  of  representatives  of  the  general  public  would 
tend  to  assure  the  government  of  the  soundness  of  a  given 
proposal.  Positions  on  such  boards  would  be  non-remunera- 
tive. 

Under  the  consolidation  plan,  several  existing  boards  and 
commissions  exercising  functions  of  a  quasi-judicial  or  sub- 
legislative  nature  would  be  retained  in  substantially  their 
present  form,  but  for  organizational  purposes  would  be  attached 
to  the  proposed  departments. 

The  departments  whose  organization  would  include  advisory 
councils  or  with  which  would  be  affiliated  existing  boards  retain- 
ing substantially  their  present  form  are  as  follows: 
Executive  Department 

Uniformity  of  Legislation  Commission 

Board  of  the  Legislative  Reference  Bureau 

State  Library  Committee 
Department  of  Finance 

Treasury  Council 
Department  of  Welfare 

State  Lunacy  Commission 

Advisory  Board  of  Parole 

Advisory  Council  on  Corrections 

Advisory  Council  on  Charities 

27 


Department  of  Health 

Advisory  Council  on  Health 
Department  of  Education 
Advisory  Council  on  Education 
Advisory  Council  on  Agricultural  Development 
Department  of  Commerce 
Public  Service  Commission 
Board  of  Motion  Pictures  Censors 
Department  of  Labor 

Industrial  Accident  Commission 
Department  of  Employment  and  Registration 

18  Vocational  Examining  Boards 

Note:  The  plan  proposes  that  such  of  the  existing  boards  as  will 
retain  substantially  their  present  functions  and  authority  shall  be 
known  by  their  present  titles.  "Advisory  Councils"  are  proposed  in 
those  cases  where  the  form  or  jurisdiction  of  existing  agencies  can  be 
changed  to  advantage. 

PROPOSED    RE-ALLOCATION    OF   AGENCIES 

Table  D,  which  follows,  indicates  the  proposed  allocation  of 
the  functions  of  the  various  existing  executive  agencies  of  the 
state  to  the  new  departments.  Although  the  functions  of  the 
existing  establishments  will  be  combined  within  the  various 
proposed  major  departments,  some  of  these  agencies  will  not,  of 
course,  be  absorbed  without  a  considerable  change  in  their 
oresent  organization. 

TABLE  D 
Proposed  Departments,   Showing  Allocation   of  Functions   of  Existing 

Executive  Agencies 
I — Executive  Department 

Executive  Department 
Secretary 'of  State 

Legislation  Commission,  Uniformity  of 
Legislative  Reference  Bureau 
State  Library 
II — Department  of  Finance 

State  Treasurer's  Office 
Tax  Commission 
Central  Purchasing  Bureau 
III — Department  of  Law 

Attorney  General's  Office 
IV — Department  of  Militia 

Adjutant  General's  Office 
V— Department  of  Welfare 
Mental  Hygiene 

Lunacy  Commission,  State 
Crownsville  State  Hospital 
Eastern  Shore  State  Hospital 
Rosewood  State  Training  School 
Springfield  State  Hospital 
Spring  Grove  State  Hospital 
Charities 

Aid  and  Charities,  Board  of  State 
Miners'  Hospital 
Pine  Bluff  Sanitorium 
Tuberculosis  Sanitorium,  Maryland 

28 


Workshop  for  the  Blind,  Maryland 
Deaf,  Maryland  School  for  the 

Corrections 

State  Board  of  Prison  Control 
House  of  Correction 
Maryland  Penitentiary 

Industrial  Training  School  for  Girls 

Maryland  Training  School  for  Boys 

Advisory  Board  of  Parole 
VI— Department  of  Health 

Health,  State  Department  of 
VII — Department  of  Education 

Department  of  Education 

Normal  School  (Towson)  ' 

Normal  School  (Frostburg) 

Normal  and  Industrial  School 
University  of  Maryland 

State  Board  of  Forestry  (Under  State  University) 
State  Weather  Service  (Under  State  University) 
Public   Library   Commission,   Maryland    (Under  State   Uni- 
versity) 

VIII— Department  of  Public  Works 
Roads  Commission,  State 

Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds 
Board  of  Public  \Vorks  (Not  including  financial  functions) 
Armory  Commission 

Washington  Cemetery,  Trustees  of  » 

IX — Department  of  Commerce 
Bank  Commissioner 
Insurance  Commissioner 
Motor  Vehicles,  Commissioner  of 
Conservation  Commission  of  Maryland 
Land  Office 

Public  Service  Commission 
Tobacco  Inspector,  State 
Athletic  Commission,  State 
Racing  Commission 

Motion  Picture  Censors,  State  Board  of 
X — Department  of  Labor 

Industrial  Accident  Commission 
Labor  and  Statistics,  State  Board  of 
Board  of  Boiler  Rules 

•XI — Department  of  Employment  and  Registration 
State  Employment  Commission 
Barber  Examiners,  State  Board  of 
Chiropody,  Board  of  Examiners  of 
Chiropractic  Examiners,  Board  of 
Dental  Examiners,  State  Board  of 
Engineers, \Board  of  Examining  (Stationary) 
Examiners  and  Supervisors,  Board  of  (Electrical) 
Homeopathic  Examiners,  State  Board  of 
Horseshoers,  Board  of  Examiners  of 
Medical  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Moving  Picture  Machine  Operators,  Board  of  Examiners  of 
Nurses,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 
Optometry,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 
Osteopathic  Examiners,  Board  of 
Pharmacy,  State  Board  of 
Plumbing,  Commissioners  of  Practical 
Public  Accountants,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 

29 


Undertakers,  State  Board  of 
Veterinary  Medical  Board,  State 
Office  of  the  State  Comptroller 
State  Comptroller's  Office 
State  Auditor's  Office 

The  reorganization  plan  further  recommends  that  the  funct- 
ions of  the  Liquor  License  Commissioners,  the  Weigher  of 
Tomatoes,  the  Measurer  of  Woodcarts,  and  the  Inspectors  of 
Hay  and  Straw  be  delegated  to  the  City  of  Baltimore,  if  it  is 
decided  that  these  functions  be  perpetuated.  It  is  furthe- 
proposed  that  Johns  Hopkins  University  shall  assume  in- 
creased authority  and  responsibility  over  the  Geological  and 
Economic  Survey,  which  is  already  practically  a  part  of  that 
institution. 

Table  E,  on  the  following  page,  shows  the  units  of  the 
present  organization  and  the  bureaus  and  departments  to  which 
their  functions  will  be  assigned  under  the  consolidation  plan. 
The  titles  proposed  for  the  bureaus  of  the  new  departments 
are,  of  course,  subject  to  modification  and  the  allocation  of 
functions  of  some  of  the  existing  agencies  may  also  be  subject 
to  some  adjustment. 


30 


TABLE  E 

Proposed   Distribution   of  Functions   of  Existing   Executive    Agencies 
Among  Reorganized  Departments 


Present  Organization 

Proposed  Organization 

Bureau 

Department 

Adjutant  General's  Office  . 

Charities 
Buildings 
Athletics 

Audit  Division 

Bank  Regulation 
Registration 
Boiler  Inspection 
Registration 

Registration 

Accounts    Divi- 
sion 

Conservation 
Mental  Hygiene 

Charities 
Registration 

Mental  Hygiene 
Employment 

Registration 

Militia 

Welfare 
Public  Works 
Commerce 
Law 
Office  of  the  State 
Comptroller 

Commerce 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Labor 

Employment  and 
Registration 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Office  of  the  State 
Comptroller 

Commerce 
Welfare 

Welfare 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Education 
Welfare 
Employment  and 
Registration 

Employment  and 
Registration 

Aid    and    Charities,    Board    of 
State  

Armory  Commission  

Athletic  Commission   State 

Attorney-General,  Office  of  the. 
Auditor,  Office  of  the  State  

Bank  Commissioner,   Office  of 
the  

Barber  Examiners,  State  Board 
of 

Boiler  Rules,  Board  of  
Chiropody     Examiners,     State 
Board  of  

Chiropractic  Examiners,  State 
Board  of 

Comptroller's  Office,  State  

Conservation     Commission     of 
Maryland  

Crownsville  State  Hospital  

Deaf,  Maryland  State  School  for 
the                               

Dental  Examiners,  State  Board 
of  

Education,  State  Department  of 
Eastern  Shore  State  Hospital  .  .  . 
Employment  Commission,  State. 

Engineers    (Stationary),    State 
Board  of  Examining 

31 


Present  Organization 

Proposed  Organization 

Bureau 

Department 

Examiners      and      Supervisors, 
Board  of  (Electrical  Commis- 
sion) 

Registration 

Administration 
University        of 
Maryland 
Conservation 

To  Johns  Hopkins 
To  Baltimore  City 

Registration 

Registration 
Corrections 

Workmen's 
Compensation 
Statistics 

Corrections 
Insurance  Regu- 
lation 

Inspection 
Permits 
Statistics 
Land  Office  and 
Archives 

Uniformity       of 
Legislation 
Commission 
Legislative  Ref- 
erence 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Executive 
Education 

Commerce 

University 
or  abolished 
Health 

Employment  and 
Registration 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Welfare 

Labor 
Labor 

Welfare 
Commerce 

Labor 
Labor 
Labor 
Commerce 

Law 
Executive 

Executive 

Executive  Department      

Forestry,  State  Board  of  
Game  Warden   State 

Geological  and  Economic  Sur- 
vey, State  

Hay  and  Straw,  Inspectors  of..  . 
Health,  State  Department  of  — 
Homeopathic  Examiners,  State 
Board  of 

Horseshoers,    Board    of   Exam- 
iners of  

House  of  Correction                .... 

Industrial     Accident     Commis- 
sion, State  Insurance  

Statistical  Work 

Industrial  Training  School  for 
Girls,  Maryland  

Insurance  Department,  State  .  .  . 

Labor     and     Statistics,     State 
Board  of  ... 

Land  Office 

Law  Department                      .  .   . 

Legislation    Commission,    Uni- 
formity of 

Legislative  Reference  Bureau  .  .  . 

32 


Present  Organization 

Proposed  Organization 

Bureau 

Department 

Library  Commission,  Maryland 

Library    Exten- 
sion    Service, 
University    of 
Maryland 
Library       Com- 
mittee, State 
State  Library 
To  Baltimo 
Mental  Hygiene 

Registration 

State    Aid    and 
Charities 

Motion    Picture 
Censorship 
Motor  Vehicles 

Registration 
Normal  Sch6ols 
Registration 

Registration 
Registration 

Parole 
Corrections 
Registration 

Charities 
Registration 
Corrections 
Registration 

Education 

Executive 

Executive 
re  City 
Welfare 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Welfare 

Commerce 
Commerce 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Education 

Employment  and 
Registration 

Employment  and 
Registration  H 
Employment  and 
Registration 
Welfare 
Welfare 
Employment  and 
Registration 
Welfare 

Employment  and 
Registration 
Welfare 

Employment  and 
Registration 

Library  Committee,  State.  .  .!V.  . 
Library  State  ...          .   . 

Liquor  License  Commissioners  .  . 
Lunacy  Commission,  State  
Medical  Examiners,  State  Board 
of 

Miners'  Hospital  

Motion  Picture  Censors,  Mary- 
land State  Board  of 

Motor  Vehicles,  Commissioner  of 
Moving  Picture  Machine  Oper- 
ators, Board  of  Examiners  of.  . 

Normal  Schools  

Nurses,  State  Board  of  Exam- 
iners of 

Optometry,  State  Board  of  Ex- 
aminers of  

Osteopathic  Examiners,  Board  of 
Parole,  Advisory  Board  of  

Penitentiary,  Maryland  

Pharmacy,  State  Board  of  

Pine  Bluff  Sanitorium 

Plumbing,     Commissioners     of 
Practical  

Prison  Control,  State  Board  of.. 
Public  Accountants,   Board  of 
Examiners  of 

33 


Present  Organization 

Proposed  Organization 

Bureau 

Department 

Public  Buildings  and  Grounds. 
Superintendent  of 

Buildings 
Public  Utilities 

Treasury  Coun- 
cil 
Buildings 
Purchases      and 
Supply 
Racing 
Roads 
Mental  Hygiene 
Mental  Hygiene 
Mental  Hygiene 
Taxation 
Tobacco  Inspec- 
tion 
To  Baltimore  C 

Corrections 
Treasury      and 
Accounts 

Charities 
Registration 

Registration 

Land  Office  and 
Archives 

Buildings 
University        of 
Maryland 
To  Baltimore  C 

Charities 

Public  Works 
Commerce 

Finance 

Public  Works 
Finance 

Commerce 
Public  Works 
Welfare 
Welfare 
Welfare 
Finance 
Commerce 

ity  or  abolished 

Welfare 
Finance 

Welfare 
Employment  and 
Registration 
Education 
Employment  and 
Registration 
Commerce 

Public  Works 
Education 

ity  or  abolished 
Welfare 

Public  Service  Commission 

Public  Works,  Board  of 
Financial  Functions  

Public  Works 

Purchasing  Bureau,  Central 

Racing  Commission,  Maryland.. 
Roads  Commission,  State  

Rosewood  State  Training  School 
Springfield  State  Hospital 

Spring  Grove  State  Hospital.  .  .  . 
Tax  Commission,  State 
Tobacco  Inspector,  State  

Tomatoes,  Weigher  of 

Training      School     for      Boys, 
Maryland  rf  

Treasurer's  Office,  State  

Tuberculosis  Sanitorium,  Mary- 
land.. 

Undertakers,  State  Board  of  .... 
University  of  Maryland  

Veterinary  Medical  Board,  State. 
War  Records  Commission 

Washington  Cemetery,  Trustees 
of  

Weather  Service,  State 

Woodcarts,  Measurer  of  

Workshop      for      the      Blind, 
Maryland. 

34 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    ELEVEN    PROPOSED    DEPARTMENTS 

In  the  following  sections  each  of  the  eleven  departments 
and  the  independent  auditing  office  under  the  proposed  plan 
will  be  discussed.  The  principal  functions  of  each  unit  and  the 
general  plan  of  internal  organization  is  briefly  set  forth  and  the 
rearrangement  of  existing  departments  and  their  work  as 
involved  in  the  proposed  reorganization  is  brought  out.  Ques- 
tions involved  in  the  allocation  of  existing  agencies  to  the  new 
departments  have  been  considered  in  connection  with  individual 
studies  of  the  present  agencies. 

I — Executive  Department 

Functions:  Under  the  proposed  consolidation  plan  the  first 
department  will  be  the  Executive  Department  which,  as  its 
name  implies,  will  be  the  directing  and  co-ordinating  branch 
of  the  state  government.  This  Department  will  take  over  the 
work  and  the  staffs  of  the  offices  of  the  Governor  and  of  the 
Secretary  of  State.  The  Department  should  also  be  respon- 
sible for  the  supervision  of  certain  agencies  now  largely  inde- 
pendent and  inadequately  controlled,  such  as  the  State  Li- 
brary, the  Legislative  Reference  Bureau,  and  the  Uniformity 
of  Legislation  Commission.  It  might  also  take  over  super- 
vision of  the  Land  Office  and  Archives. 

Organization:  The  Governor  will  be  the  recognized  head 
of  the  Department  but  the  Secretary  of  State  will  have  immedi- 
ate supervision  of  its  administrative  activities  and  will  be  in 
effect  the  Director,  corresponding  in  rank  with  the  directors 
of  the  other  ten  departments  and  the  State  Comptroller. 
The  Secretary  of  State  will  be  one  of  the  members  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Cabinet,  and  it  is  recommended  that  he  act  as  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Cabinet,  not  merely  as  a  recording  agent  (al- 
though that  should  be  one  of  the  functions  of  his  office),  but 
as  the  aid  to  the  Governor  responsible  for  the  promulgation, 
follow-up,  and  observance  of  decisions  reached  in  cabinet 
meetings. 

Under  the  consolidation  plan  the  functions  of  the  present 
Board  of  Public  Works,  which  is  now  considered  as  affiliated 
with  the  Executive  Department,  will  ultimately  be  distributed 
between  the  proposed  Department  of  Public  Works  and  the 
Treasury  Council  which  will  be  attached  to  the  proposed 
Department  of  Finance. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  With  one  or  two  exceptions  the 
Secretaries  of  State  of  other  states  are  elected  by  the  people, 
rather  than  appointed  by  the  Governor,  as  in  Maryland,  and 
proposals  for  the  administrative  consolidation  of  executive 
departments  have  in  most  cases  excluded  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary of  State  because  of  constitutional  changes  which  would 
be  required.  The  office  of  Secretary  of  State  in  Maryland  is 

35 


further  unlike  that  in  a  number  of  other  states  in  that  it  has  no 
supervision  over  such  functions  as  the  regulation  of  corpora- 
tions or  the  licensing  of  motor  vehicles. 

All  of  the  consolidation  proposals  irr  other  states  have,  how- 
ever, either  provided  for  a  cabinet  for  the  Governor  or  for  cen- 
tral boards  of  administration  or  control,  for  either  of  which 
there  must  naturally  be  a  secretary  and  co-ordinating  officer. 
It  will,  therefore,  be  a  simple  matter  in  the  proposed  program 
for  Maryland  to  authorize  the  Secretary  of  State  to  serve  as 
Director  of  the  Executive  Department  and  as  Secretary  of  the 
Governor's  cabinet. 

Consolidation  proposals  elsewhere  have  also  in  some  instances 
disregarded  units  of  lesser  importance,  such  as  the  Uniformity 
of  Legislation  Commission  and  the  State  Library.  It  is  highly 
desirable,  however,  to  attach  such  agencies  to  one  of  the  major 
departments  in  order  that  some  measure  of  supervision  may  be 
exercised  over  their  activities.  The  same  principle  applies  to 
the  Legislative  Reference  Bureau  in  so  far  as  its  state  activities 
are  concerned. 

II — Department  of  Finance 

Functions:  The  second  major  department  in  the  recom- 
mended consolidation  plan  is  the  Department  of  Finance. 
The  need  for  this  Department  and  the  inadequacies  and  ano- 
malies in  the  present  organization  of  the  state's  financial 
offices  are  fully  dealt  within  Appendix  A  of  this  report — following 
a  comprehensive  discussion  of  the  whole  problem  of  financial 
administration.  It  is  there  recommended  that  there  be  cre- 
ated by  statute  a  Department  of  Finance  to  exercise  the  execu- 
tive functions  of  central  financial  administration,  that  is,  all 
functions  except  those  properly  belonging  to  the  independent 
office  of  audit  and  control. 

The  new  Department  of  Finance  will  take  over  all  or  most 
of  the  work  of  the  present  offices  of  the  State  Comptroller, 
State  Treasurer,  State  Auditor,  State  Tax  Commission,  and 
Central  Purchasing  Bureau.  Certain  functions  of  independent 
audit  now  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  Comptroller  and 
State  Auditor,  will,  however,  be  taken  over  by  the  proposed 
new  "Office  of  the  State  Comptroller."  The  Treasury  Council 
proposed  has  been  commented  upon  in  Appendix  A  of  this  report. 

The  principal  work  of  the  Department  of  Finance  will  be: 

1.  Keeping  the  central  books  of  the  state  government 

2.  Receiving,  safeguarding,  and  disbursing  public  funds 

3.  Supervising  the  collection  of  revenue 

4.  Assisting  the  executive  in  exercising  supervision  over  the  ex- 

penditure of  public  moneys 

5.  Assisting  the  executive  in  the  work  of  preparing  the  estimates 

and  the  budget 

6.  Controlling  or  executing  the  purchase  of  state  supplies 

36 


Organization:  It  is  suggested  that  the  following  bureaus  be 
organized  with  the  Department  of  Finance: 

Administrative  Office 

Bureau  of  Budget  and  Investigations 

Bureau  of  Treasury  and  Accounts 

Bureau  of  Taxation 

Bureau  of  Purchase  and  Supply 

The  head  of  the  Department  will  properly  carry  the  title 
Director  of  Finance  and  would  be  assisted  by  four  bureau 
chiefs,  each  with  the  title  of  Commissioner  or  Assistant  Direc- 
tor. The  Assistant  Director  in  charge  of  "budget  and  inves- 
tigations "  will  be  the  ranking  officer.  Until  a  constitutional 
amendment  is  passed,  the  State  Treasurer  at  present  elected 
by  the  General  Assembly  would  serve  as  Director  of  Finance. 

/// — Department  of  Law 

Under  the  proposed  re-grouping  of  state  agencies  the  existing 
Department  of  Law  will  be  continued  without  change  in  func- 
tion or  organization.  The  head  of  the  Department,  as  at 
present,  will  be  the  Attorney-General.  Eventually,  however, 
a  constitutional  amendment  should  be  submitted  to  the  people 
to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  the  Attorney-General  by  the 
Governor  rather  than  his  election  by  the  people. 

IV — Department  of  Militia 

The  proposed  plan  of  reorganization  contemplates  a  Depart- 
ment of  Militia  in  charge  of  the  military  and  naval  activities  of 
the  state,  its  director  being  the  Adjutant  General.  The  Adju- 
tant General  shall  be  a  member  of  the  Governor's  cabinet. 

• 

No  change  in  the  present  organization  of  the  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral's office  will  be  necessary,  the  only  change  being  the  adoption 
of  the  term  "  Department  of  Militia"  which  is  in  the  interest  of 
uniform  nomenclature.  There  will  be  three  main  subdivisions 
to  the  work  of  the  Department  of  Militia,  an  Administrative 
Office,  a  Bureau  of  Inspection,  and  a  Quartermaster  Bureau. 

In  discussing  the  State  Armory  Commission  it  has  been 
suggested  that  the  Commission  be  abolished  and  its  supervision 
over  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  armory  buildings  be 
turned  over  preferably  to  the  Department  of  Public  Works. 
If  this  is  done,  the  control  and  use  of  Armory  Buildings,  aside 
from  their  physical  maintenace,  should  be  delegated  to  the 
Department  of  Militia.  , 

V — The  Department  of  Welfare 

Functions:  To  the  Department  of  Welfare  will  be  entrusted 
all  eleemosynary  and  correctional  activities  of  the  state,  in- 
cluding the  allotment  of  state  aid  to  privately  managed  charit- 
able and  correctional  institutions  and  general  hospitals. 

The  Department  will  embrace  the  following  existing  agencies: 

37 


Relating  to  Mental  Hygiene 
State  Lunacy  Commission 
Crownsville  State  Hospital 
Eastern  Shore  State  Hospital 
Springfield  State  Hospital 
Spring  Grove  State  Hospital 
Rosewood  State  Training  School 

Relating  to  Charities 

Board  of  State  Aid  and  Charities 
Miners'  Hospital 
Pine  Bluff  Sanitorium 
Maryland  Tuberculosis  Sanitorium 
Maryland  School  for  the  Deaf 
Workshop  for  the  Blind 

Relating  to  Corrections 

State  Board  of  Prison  Control 

Maryland  Penitentiary 

House  of  Correction 
Industrial  Training  Schools  for  Girls 
Maryland  Training  School  for  Boys 
Advisory  Board  of  Parole 

Organization:  The  Department  will  be  headed  by  a  Direc- 
tor of  Welfare  appointed  by  the  Governor.  It  will  be  divided 
into  five  main  subdivisions  as  follows: 

Administrative  Office 
Staff  of  Specialists 
Bureau  of  Mental  Hygiene 
Bureau  of  Charities 
Bureau  of  Corrections 
Bureau  of  Parole 

The  Administrative  Office,  as  in  the  case  of  other  proposed 
departments,  will  concentrate  in  one  unit  the  machinery  set 
up  to  take  care  of  the  business  affairs  of  the  Department. 
Such  activities  would  include  those  relating  to  general  corre- 
spondence, accounts,  records,  supplies,  and  reports.  The 
Chief  Clerk  in  charge  of  this  office  should  be  thoroughly  experi- 
enced in  accounting,  office  organization,  and  procedure.  In 
addition  to  co-ordinating  the  activities  of  the  Department 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Director,  and  to  relieving  him  of 
administrative  detail,  this  officer  shall  have  general  functional 
supervision  over  the  clerical  and  office  work  of  the  various 
institutions.  He  should  be  qualified  to  standardize  and  sim- 
plify the  record  keeping,  storekeeping,  filing,  and  routine  ac- 
counting procedure  of  the  various  hospitals,  sanitoria,  and 
correctional  institutions. 

There  will  also  be  attached  to  the  Administrative  Office  a 
Medical  Supervisor  and  an  Industrial  Supervisor  who  should 
be  specialists  in  their  fields.  The  Industrial  Supervisor  shall 
be  responsible  to  the  Director  of  the  Department  for  the  proper 
conduct  of  all  productive  industries  established  in  connection 
with  either  charitable  or  correctional  institutions  of  the  state. 
His  first  and  most  important  work  should  be  the  development 
of  a  comprehensive  industrial  program  for  state  institutions  of 

38 


all  kinds.  That  beneficial  and  if  possible,  profitable,  em- 
ployment must  be  furnished  all  warcLs  of  the  state  physically 
and  mentally  able  to  undertake  such  work  has  been  commented 
on  elsewhere  in  this  report. 

The  Industrial  Supervisor  will  be  assisted  by  a  Farm  Agent 
thoroughly  experienced  in  scientific  farming  and  able  to  put  the 
various  institutional  farms  on  the  highest  possible  productive 
basis,  and  perhaps  by  a  Sales  Agent  responsible  for  the  sale  to 
the  State  Purchasing  Agent  or  to  the  public  of  the  products  of 
all  institutional  industries.  The  Farm  Agent  should  also  be 
given  a  measure  of  supervision  over  farms  at  the  State  Normal 
Schools,  under  the  Department  of  Education.  The  establish- 
ment and  co-ordination  of  institutional  industries  is  a  task  of 
no  small  magnitude  and  will  require  the  services  of  an  industrial 
manager  thoroughly  versed  not  only  in  industrial  management 
•but  preferably  in  occupational  therapy.  This  officer  will  be 
charged  with  the  general  supervision  of  all  industrial  workshops 
in  the  institution,  of  agricultural  activities  on  farms,  and  of 
road  work,  re-forestation,  or  other  public  works.  He  will 
cooperate  with  the  Bureau  of  Purchases  of  the  Department  of 
Finance  in  an  effort  to  produce  as  many  as  possible  of  the  sup- 
plies needed  by  the  state  in  its  institutions.  As  business  man- 
ager of  the  industries  in  all  institutions  the  Supervisor  will  be 
responsible  for  both  the  quantity  and  quality  of  production. 
He  will  prepare  estimates  of  the  number  of  inmates  required 
to  keep  the  various  working  forces  up  to  full  working  strength 
and  cooperate  with  the  Commissioner  of  Corrections  in  making 
assignments  of  inmates  to  the  different  kinds  of  work.  The 
Supervisor  shall  recommend  rates  of  wages  to  be  paid  in- 
mates of  the  institutions  employed  in  various  industries,  giv- 
ing due  consideration  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  production 
and  the  rates  of  wages  paid  for  similar  work  in  private  em- 
ployment. 

The  Medical  Supervisor  will  exercise  general  supervision 
over  the  medical  activities  at  the  various  institutions  and  will 
have  particular  charge  of  medical  affairs  relating  to  the  state 
tuberculosis  sanitoria  and  the  Miners'  Hospital.  He  should 
be  an  experienced  physician,  preferably  one  specially  versed 
in  the  treatment  of  tuberculosis,  and  by  all  means  thoroughly 
grounded  in  hospital  management.  He  will  be  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  proper  sanitary  conditions  affecting  the 
health  of  the  inmates  of  all  state  institutions,  will  oversee  the 
care  of  wards  of  the  State  requiring  hospital  attention,  and 
will  make  recommendations  on  medical  considerations  outside 
of  the  field  of  psychiatry. 

The  Bureau  of  Mental  Hygiene  will  be  in  charge  of  a  Com- 
missioner of  Mental  Hygiene  who  should  be  an  experienced 
alienist  and  will  exercise  general  supervision  over  the  hospitals 
for  the  insane  and  the  feeble-minded.  He  will  assist  the 

39 


superintendents  of  these  institutions  with  their  psychiatric 
problems  and  will  serve  as  Chairman  of  the  State  Lunacy 
Commission  which  will  become  largely  an  advisory  body  of 
alienists. 

The  Bureau  of  Charities  will  exercise  particular  supervision 
over  the  Maryland  School  for  the  Deaf  and  the  Workshop  for 
the  Blind  as  well  as  over  the  tuberculosis  sanitoria  and  the 
Miners'  Hospital,  aside  from  the  medical  considerations  involved 
in  the  administration  of  the  last  mentioned  institutions.  It 
will  also  assume  the  functions  of  the  present  Board  of  State 
Aid  and  Charities.  This  Bureau  will  be  headed  by  a  Com- 
missioner of  Charities  who  should  be  experienced  in  charitable 
matters  and  in  institutional  management.  He  will  prescribe 
adequate  and  standard  report  forms  on  which  the  various  state- 
aided  institutions  will  report  to  the  Department,  and  will  over- 
see the  examination  of  these  reports  and  the  periodic  inspec- 
tion of  the  institutions.  He  will  also  serve  as  Chairman  of  an 
Advisory  Council  on  Charities,  preferably  composed  of  five 
members  interested  in  eleemosynary  matters.  He  will  be 
assisted  by  at  least  two  field  inspectors  who  will  be  available 
for  the  use  of  the  other  divisions  of  the  Department  when  they 
are  not  engaged  in  inspecting  state-aided  institutions.  The 
judisdiction  of  this  division  will  be  confined  to  charitable  and 
correctional  institutions,  the  supervision  over  state-aided  edu- 
cational institutions  being  left  to  the  Department  of  Education. 

This  Bureau  will  oversee  the  allotment  of  state  funds  to  pri- 
vate and  charitable  institutions  and  will  be  responsible  for 
seeing  that  this  money  is  properly  expended  by  the  institutions 
in  question.  Its  chief  will  supervise  the  preparation  of  the 
state-aid  budget  and  will  recommend  transfers  of  funds  from 
one  agency  to  another  in  case  of  emergency. 

The  Commissioner  of  Corrections  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of 
Corrections  will  have  general  oversight  of  penal  and  correc- 
tional activities  in  those  institutions  concerned  with  such 
problems,  and  will  serve  as  Chairman  of  an  Advisory  Council 
on  Corrections,  made  up  of  five  men  and  women  interested  or 
experienced  in  criminology.  The  Commissioner  should  be 
thoroughly  versed  in  prison  and  reformatory  management  and 
discipline.  He  shall  be  responsible  for  the  preparation  and 
eforcement  of  prison  regulations  and  he  should  supervise  the 
classification  of  prisoners  at  the  time  they  entered  the  institu- 
tion and  their  assignment  to  the  institutional  industry  for  which 
they  are  best  fitted.  He  will  also  exercise  responsibility  for  the 
control  and  supervision  of  educational  training  and  methods  in 
the  correctional  institutions,  of  physical  and  vocational  training, 
and  of  prison  libraries. 

The  Commissioner  of  Parole  will  serve  as  the  Chairman  of  the 
Advisory  Board  of  Parole  which  shall  be  attached  to  this  De- 
partment. The  Commissioner  shall  be  responsible  to  the  Direc- 

40 


tor  for  the  administrative  effectiveness  of  his  division,'  but  the 
Board  of  Parole  itself,  in  so  far  as  its  quasi-judicial  functions 
are  concerned,  shall  continue  independent  of  the  departmental 
Director.  The  placing  of  the  Board  of  Parole  with  the  De- 
partment will  make  possible  an  effective  cooperation  between 
the  management  of  the  various  institutions  and  the  Board  of 
Parole,  a  relationship  which  is  lacking  at  the  present  time. 
The  Bureau  of  Parole  will  be  entrusted  with  all  parole  and 
probation  work  of  the  Department  including  the  release  of 
inmates  from  reformatories  and  insane  asylums,  and  social 
service  or  after-care  work. 

The  Commissioners  of  Mental  Hygiene,  of  Charities,  and  of 
Corrections  will  exercise  general  supervision  subject  to  the 
Director  of  the  Department,  over  tfre  superintendents  of  the 
various  institutions  with  which  their  bureaus  have  been  con- 
cerned. Their  authority  will  be  broader  than  that  proposed 
for  the  Medical  Supervisor  and  the  Industrial  Supervisor  whose 
work  will  be  more  largely  of  a  functional  nature  and  will  touch 
all  institutions  embraced  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Depart- 
ment. 

Advisory  Councils:  Four  Advisory  Councils  are  suggested  in 
connection  with  the  Department  of  Welfare — the  State  Lunacy 
Commission,  the  Advisory  Board  of  Parole,  the  Advisory  Coun- 
cil on  Charities,  and  the  Advisory  Council  on  Corrections. 
The  State  Lunacy  Commission  will  be  continued  in  substan- 
tially its  present  form,  but  preferably  without  the  Attorney 
General.  The  Commissioner  of  Mental  Hygiene  will  call  on 
the  other  two  members  of  the  State  Lunacy  Commission  when 
it  becomes  necessary  to  pass  upon  the  sanity  of  inmates  or 
prospective  inmates  of  institutions,  or  to  recommend  matters 
of  policy  involved  in  the  treatment  of  the  insane  or  the  feeble- 
minded. While  in  general  it  is  proposed  that  members  of 
advisory  councils  receive  no  compensation  for  their  services, 
members  of  the  State  Lunacy  Commission,  because  of  the 
larger  demands  made  upon  them,  should  be  paid  for  the  time 
they  actually  devote  to  their  work.  The  Council  on  Correc- 
tions and  the  Council  on  Charities  will  take  the  place  of  the 
present  boards  of  managers  or  boards  of  visitors  of  the  various 
institutions  but  will  have  no  administrative  authority  except 
the  right  to  make  inspections  upon  their  own  initiative. 

The  various  councils  shall  be  made  up  of  the  best  type  of 
public-spirited  citizens  interested  or  experienced  in  their  re- 
spective fields.  It  shall  be  their  particular  province  to  furnish 
constructive  suggestions  and  make  recommendations  in  matters 
of  policy  to  the  Director  of  the  Department  and  to  the  various 
Commissioners.  The  advisory  councils  would  best  be  made 
up  of  five,  or  at  the  most,  seven  members,  while  three  members 
will  be  adequate  for  the  State  Lunacy  Commission  or  the 
Advisory  Board  of  Parole. 

41 


The  Advisory  Council  on  Charities  shall  be  made  up  of  citi- 
zens, each  interested  in  a  particular  field,  such  as  state  aid,  the 
education  of  the  deaf,  the  education  of  the  blind,  or  the  pre- 
vention of  tuberculosis,  so  that  this  Council  can  be  broken  up 
into  sub-committees,  each  of  which  could  particularly  concern 
itself  with  the  specialized  type  of  institutions  involved. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  Programs  calling  for  the  con- 
solidation of  administrative  agencies  in  nine  states  and  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  have  provided  for  the  consolidation  of 
charitable  and  correctional  institutions  within  a  Department  of 
Public  Welfare.  A  bill  has  also  been  introduced  into  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
such  a  Department.  The  states  in  which  such  departments 
have  been  established  or  are  proposed  are  the  following:  Cali- 
fornia, Delaware,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Nebraska,  Ohio, 
Oregon,  and  South  Carolina.  In  Massachusetts,  Missouri,  and 
New  York  consolidation  proposals  have  provided  separate 
departments  for  the  penal  institutions  and  for  the  charitable 
institutions.  In  the  case  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts, 
institutions  of  each  class  aje  more  numerous  and  the  problem 
of  supervision  and  control  is  so  big  as  to  warrant  consideration 
of  the  establishment  of  separate  departments.  In  Illinois, 
Nebraska,  and  Idaho,  both  charitable  and  correctional  institu- 
tions have  been  grouped  together  and  the  plan  is  reported  to  be 
working  thoroughly  satisfactorily. 

VI — Department  of  Health 

Functions:  The  Department  of  Health  will  have  general 
supervision  over  matters  affecting  public  health  and  sanita- 
tion. It  will  have  charge  of  the  compilation  of  statistics,  the 
inspection  of  foods  and  drugs,  the  regulation  of  sanitary  con- 
ditions, and  the  control  of  epidemics  and  communicable  dis- 
eases. The  proposed  department  will  correspond  closely  to 
the  present  State  Department  of  Health  but  will  be  headed 
by  a  Director  instead  of  a  board.  The  State  Health  Officer 
will  become  the  Director  of  Health  and  the  board  be  made  into 
an  Advisory  Council  on  Health.  To  the  Director  should  be 
left  the  entire  executive  direction  of  the  health  activities  of 
the  state,  the  board  confining  itself  largely  to  giving  advice 
and  counsel.  The  State  Health  Officer  is  already  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes  the  active  directing  head  of  the  Department. 
The  change  proposed  will  therefore  merely  serve  to  give  legal 
sanction  to  a  condition  which  already  practically  exises. 

Organization:  The  present  Department  of  Health  is  organ- 
ized into  the  Bureaus  of  Communicable  Diseases,  Vital  Statis- 
tics, Chemistry,  Bacteriology,  Foods  and  Drugs,  and  Sanitary 
Engineering,  and  the  Division  of  Accounts  and  Property.  The 
only  consequential  change  suggested  in  the  internal  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  Department  is  the  consolidation  of  its  statis- 
tical work.  At  present  both  the  Bureau  of  Communicable 

42 


Diseases  and  the  Bureau  of  Vital  Statistics  are  engaged  in 
statistical  work  and  it  is  believed  that  better  results  and 
greater  economy  can  be  obtained  by  bringing  these  activities 
into  a  single  Bureau  of  Statistics.  The  Bureau  of  Com- 
municable Diseases  will  continue  its  preventive  work  as 
heretofore. 

Advisory  Council  on  Health:  The  title  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health  will  be  changed  under  the  reorganization  plan,  in  the 
interest  of  standard  nomenclature,  to  that  of  Advisory  Coun- 
cil on  Health.  The  relationship  between  the  executive  officer 
and  the  Health  Council,  and  the  amount  and  kind  of  power 
entrusted  to  each,  is  most  important.  The  effectiveness  of  the 
Department  of  Health  will  depend  upon  the  extent  to  which  the 
Director  of  Health  will  be  subjected  to  the  control  of  the  Coun- 
cil in  the  performance  of  executive  duties.  The  Director  will 
l><1  in  closer  touch  with  public  health  matters  than  the  Coun- 
cil, will  have  much  less  difficulty  in  making  up  his  mind  in  the 
face  of  an  emergency  as  to  what  action  should  be  taken,  and 
can  therefore  act  more  certainly  and  promptly.  He  should 
be  entrusted  with  the  entire  control  of  executive  matters  con- 
nected with  public  health  administration  and  subject  only  to 
removal  from  office  for  good  and  sufficient  cause. 

In  drafting  sanitary  regulations  and  adopting  general  rules, 
in  reality  a  legislative  function,  the  active  participation  of  a 
board  or  council  is  desirable.  Even  in  such  matters,  however, 
a  board  should  be  confined  largely  to  advice  and  counsel  and 
encouragement  of  the  executive.  On  the  other  hand,  if  indi- 
cations suggest  inefficiency  or  negligence  on  the  part  of  the 
Director  of  the  Department,  the  Council  should  have  authority 
to  conduct  investigations  into  the  administration  of  the 
Department  upon  its  own  initiative,  and  make  reports  to  the 
Governor  and  the  public. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  The  number  of  members  of  the 
State  Boards  of  Health  varies  from  one  in  Oklahoma  to  thirteen 
in  Mississippi,  the  average  being  about  seven.  In  most  states 
the  practice  in  the  past  has  usually  been  to  leave  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  executive  officer  to  the  Board.  The  most  satisfac- 
tory arrangement,  in  case  the  Maryland  'board  is  to  become 
largely  an  advisory  body  and  the  administration  of  public 
health  affairs  left  to  an  executive  officer  or  Director  of  Health, 
will  be  to  have  the  latter  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

VII — Department  of  Education 

Functions:  A  Department  of  Education  is  proposed  as  one 
of  the  major  administrative  branches  under  the  consolidation 
plan.  The  Department  should  properly  be  responsible  not 
only  for  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  elementary,  high, 
and  normal  schools  of  the  state  but  also  of  the  state-controlled 
institutions  of  higher  education — the  University  of  Maryland 

43 


and  its  component  colleges.  Inasmuch  as  the  only  activities 
of  the  State  of  Maryland  in  the  field  commonly  served  by  state 
departments  of  agriculture  are  closely  tied  in  with,  and  are  in 
fact  part  and  parcel  of,  the  work  of  the  College  of  Agriculture 
of  the  State  University  it  would  seem  for  the  time  being  un- 
feasible to  set  up  a  separate  department  for  agricultural  work. 
It  is  recommended  that  the  proposed  Department  of  Education 
serve  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  a  Department  of  Educa- 
tion and  Agriculture.  There  would  seem  to  be  no  reason,  how- 
ever, for  using  the  dual  title  as  the  work  in  the  field  of  agricul- 
ture is  practically  all  of  an  educational  character. 

It  is  further  proposed  that  the  University  of  Maryland  assume 
supervision  over  the  work  of  the  State  Board  of  Forestry,  the 
State  Weather  Service,  and  the  Maryland  Public  Library  Com- 
mission. The  State  Board  of  Forestry  and  the  Public  Li- 
brary Commission  shall  be  retained  more  largely  in  an  advisory 
capacity  and  greater  administrative  responsibility  shall  be 
placed  upon  the  State  Forester  and  the  Field  Secretary  of  the 
Library  Commission.  Both  of  these  agencies  are  concerned 
with  educational  extension  work  and  would  profit  materially 
by  being  brought  into  contact  with  the  State  University, 
without  losing  their  individual  prestige.  The  State  weather 
Service  is  altogether  out  of  touch  with  the  overhead  adminis- 
tration of  the  state  government  at  the  present  time,  and  since 
it  performs  a  service  of  value  largely  to  the  farmers  of  the  state 
it  could  advantageously  be  affiliated  with  the  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  at  the  University. 

Organization. — If  the  internal  organization  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Education  were  to  follow  the  plan  outlined  for  the 
other  major  branches  in  the  consolidation  plan  it  would  be 
comprised  of  the  following  divisions : 

Administrative  Office 

Administrative  Staff  of  Supervisors  and  Specialists 

Bureau  of  Elementary  Schools 

Bureau  of  High  Schools 

Bureau  of  Normal  Schools 

University  of  Maryland 

The  chief  administrative  officer  shall  carry  the  title  of 
Director  of  Education:  In  general,  he  shah1  exercise  such 
purely  executive  powers  as  are  now  vested  in  the  State  Board  of 
Education  and  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  and 
and  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  He  should  be  supported  by 
two  advisory  boards  having  counselling,  policy-making,  and 
certain  quasi-legislative  powers.  Suggested  descriptive  names 
are:  Advisory  Couixcil  on  Education  and  Advisory  Council  on 
Agricultural  Development.  The  former  should  properly  be 
organized  into  standing  sub-committees  on  Elementary  Edu- 
cation, on  High  School  Education,  and  on  Collegiate  Educa- 
tion, to  work  in  close  co-operation  with  the  corresponding 
bureaus  of  the  Department. 

44 


The  permanent  executive  officers,  under  the  Director,  will 
be:  the  President  of  the  University  of  Maryland,  who  would  be 
the  ranking  official,  and  Assistant  Directors  (or  bureau  chiefs) 
in  charge  of  elementary  schools,  of  High  Schools,  and  of  Nor- 
mal Schools.  The  Director  will  also  be  assisted  by  "  super- 
visors" specializing  in  certain  fields  or  problems,  for  example, 
a  Supervisor  of  Colored  Schools  and  a  Supervisor  of  Vocational 
Education. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  Increased  centralization  of  con- 
trol over  all  educational  institutions  in  the  interest  of  a  com- 
prehensive treatment  of  the  entire  educational  problem  of  the 
state  has  been  the  tendency  elsewhere  in  recent  years.  The 
relationship  of  the  State  University  to  the  rest  of  the  public 
school  system  is  receiving  especial  attention.  The  manage- 
ment of  state  universities  in  other  states,  however,  has  for 
the  most  part  been  left  to  a  Board  of  Regents  or  Trustees 
who  co-operate  with  the  State  Board  of  Education  but  are 
not  generally  subject  to  any  supervision  on  the  part  of  the 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  The  greatest  con- 
centration of  educational  authority  in  one  board  is  probably 
in  Oklahoma  where  the  State  Board  of  Education  has  charge 
of  the  management  of  nineteen  institutions  and  also  has 
general  supervision  over  the  public  school  system.  In  Idaho 
the  State  Department  of  Education  also  supervises  educational 
institutions  and  the  public  schools.  In  ten  states-  Iowa, 
Oklahoma,  South  Dakota,  Montana,  Idaho,  West  Virginia,  Kan- 
sas, Georgia,  Florida,  and  Mississippi-  the  managing  board  for 
the  state  universities  also  controls  other  state  educational 
institutions,  but  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
is  not  ordinarily  given  much  authority  over  the  State  Univer- 
sity. E.  P.  Cubberley,  head  of  the  Department  of  Education 
of  Leland  Stanford  University  and  a  recognized  authority, 
has  recommended  that  a  State  Board  of  Education  "through 
its  executive  officers  should  have  general  supervision  and 
inspection  of  all  forms  of  public  education  in  the  state/ ' 

The  problem  in  Maryland  is  unique,  however,  in  that  all 
agricultural  activities  of  the  state  have  been  entrusted  to 
the  regents  of  the  State  University,  a  condition  not  found 
in  other  states.  The  importance  of  adequate  guidance  for 
the  agricultural  work  of  the  state  may  preclude  the  possibility 
of  merging  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  University 
with  the  State  Board  of  Education.  However,  there  still 
remains  the  necessity  of  effecting  an  administrative  relation- 
ship between  the  State  University  and  the  Department  of 
Education. 

VIII— Department  of  Public  Works 

Functions:  As  a  part  of  the  reorganization  plan  it  is  proposed 
that  a  Department  of  Public  Works  be  established  to  have 
supervision  over  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  all  public 

*  45 


works,  highways,  and  buildings.  The  proposed  Department 
will  assume  the  functions  of  the  present  State  Roads  Commis- 
sion, the  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds, 
and  such  of  the  functions  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  as 
are  concerned  with  the  construction  of  buildings  or  other 
public  improvements  and  with  office  leases  and  rentals.  The 
Department  ought  also  to  be  charged  with  the  construction 
and  maintenance  of  the  state  armories  at  present  vested  in 
the  Armory  Commission,  although  the  use  of  these  buildings 
should  be  left  to  the  proposed  Department  of  Militia.  It 
will  also  have  charge  of  public  parks  and  grounds  and  would 
take  over  the  functions  of  the  trustees  of  Washington  Cemetery. 

Organization:  The  Department  will  be  headed  by  a  Director 
of  Public  Works,  who,  at  least  to  begin  with,  might  also  head 
the  Bureau  of  Roads  which  it  is  proposed  shall  supplant  the 
State  Roads  Commission.  The  head  of  the  Bureau  of  Roads, 
which  will  constitute  for  the  time  being  the  largest  part  of  the 
Department,  can  be  known  as  the  State  Roads  Commissioner. 
There  will  also  be  established  within  this  Department  a  Bureau 
of  Buildings  to  assume  supervision  over  the  work  of  the  Super- 
intendent of  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  in  Annapolis  and 
over  the  custody  of  other  state  buildings  and  property.  The 
work  of  the  Bureau  of  Buildings  can  be  developed  to  advantage 
to  embrace  responsibility  for  the  erection  and  maintenance 
of  all  state  buildings,  including  those  at  institutions,  in  which 
case  the  Bureau  should  be  headed  by  a  State  Architect.  Con- 
siderable sums  doubtless  can  be  saved  in  connection  with  the 
construction  work  of  the  state  if  a  consistent  policy  and  de- 
finite standards  in  this  connection  were  carried  out  by  such 
a  bureau.  As  the  work  of  the  Department  expands,  a  separate 
administrative  office,  distinct  from  that  of  the  State  Roads 
Commissioner,  will  become  necessary. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  Proposals  for  administrative  con- 
solidation in  other  states  have  almost  without  exception  pro- 
vided for  a  Department  of  Public  Works  within  which  have 
been  placed  the  functions  of  road  and  building  construction 
and  maintenance.  In  some  states  the  maintenance  of  water- 
ways and  harbors  or  the  development  of  natural  resources 
have  also  been  placed  within  this  department.  Most  states 
at  present  have  no  regular  office  of  state  architect,  but  in 
those  in  which  construction  works  involving  aggregate  amounts 
of  considerable  size  are  undertaken  great  economies  have  been 
obtained  by  following  a  definite  policy  of  building  construction 
under  the  direction  of  such  an  official.  A  number  of  the  states 
have  also  recently  provided  for  centralized  control  over  the 
maintenance  of  public  buildings  and  grounds,  although  their 
construction  work  has  not  been  centrally  allocated. 

46    ' 


IX — Department  of  Commerce 

Functions'.  It  is  proposed  that  a  Department  of  Commerce 
be  established  as  one  of  the  major  units  in  the  consolidation 
plan.  This  will  concentrate  all  the  functions  of  the  state 
concerned  with  the  regulation  of  private  business  activities 
except  industrial  welfare  and  the  licensing  of  trades  and  pro- 
fessions. It  will  also  embrace  those  activities  in  which  the 
state  provides  a  service  for  its  business  interests.  In  short, 
it  will  be^  the  "  business' '  department  with  which  commercial 
enterprises  of  various  kinds  would  come  in  touch.  In  the 
first  group  of  activities  to  be  included  within  the  Department 
would  come  the  regulation  of  banks,  loan  brokers,  and  insurance 
companies,  the  regulation  of  public  utilities,  the  regulation 
of  the  fish  and  the  shellfish  industries,  and  the  regulation 
of  amusements,  including  athletic  contests,  horse  races,  and 
the  motion  picture  industry.  In  the  second  group  would  be 
found  the  State  Tobacco  Warehouses,  which  furnish  a  service 
to  tobacco  growers,  and  perhaps  the  Land  Office,  upon  which 
real  estate  transfers  are  dependent. 

This  new  department  will  logically  take  over  the  work,  all 
coining  within  its  field,  now  delegated  to  the  following  mis- 
cellaneous agencies: 

Office  of  the  Bank  Commissioner 

Office  of  the  Insurance  Commissioner 

Office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Motor  Vehicles 

Conservation  Commission  of  Maryland 

Land  Office 

Office  of  the  Tobacco  Inspector 

State  Athletic  Commission 

Maryland  Racing  Commission 

State  Board  of  Motion  Pictures  Censors 

The  Public  Service  Commission  should  properly  be  closely 
tied  in  with  the  department  but  not  made  as  integral  a  part  of 
it  as  the  other  commissions  listed  above. 

Organization:  The  internal  organization  of  the  Department 
will  have  to  be  adjusted  and  perfected  as  the  state  develops 
ways  and  means  of  serving  and  regulating  commercial  enter- 
prise through  legislation.  If  the  ten  existing  agencies  which 
it  is  proposed  shall  be  placed  within  the  Department  are  re- 
tained as  individual  units,  the  organization  of  the  Department, 
with  the  possible  addition  of  a  Bureau  of  Weights  and  Meas- 
ures, will  be  as  follows: 

Administrative  Office 

Bureau  of  Bank  Regulation,  headed  by  the  Bank  Commissioner 

Bureau  of  Insurance  Regulation,  headed  by  the  Insurance  Com- 
missioner 

Bureau  of  Motor  Vehicles,  headed  by  the  Commissioner  of  Motor 
Vehicles 

Bureau  of  Conservation,  headed  by  a  Conservation  Commissioner 

47 


Bureau  of  the  Land  Office  and  Archives,  headed  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Land  Office 
Bureau  of  Public  Utilities,  headed  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Public 

Service  Commission 

Bureau  of  Tobacco  Inspection,  headed  by  the  State  Tobacco  In- 
spector 

Bureau  of  Athletics,  headed  by  a  State  Athletic  Commissioner 
Bureau  of  Racing,  headed  by  a  State  Racing  Commissioner 
Bureau  of  Motion  Picture  Censorship,  headed  by  the  Chairman  of 
the  State  Board  of  Motion  Picture  Censors 

Consideration  might  be  given  to  grouping  the  Athletic  Com- 
mission, the  Racing  Commission,  and  the  Motion  Picture  Cen- 
sors, all  of  which  are  smaller  units  than  the  other  divisions 
proposed  for  the  Department,  within  a  single  bureau. 

In  order  to  effect  adequate  supervision  and  definitely  to 
place  administrative  responsibility,  the  bureaus  of  the  proposed 
department,  with  a  few  exceptions,  shall  be  headed  by  a  single 
individual.  In  accordance  with  the  general  policy  advocated 
in  this  report,  it  is  recommended  that  boards  and  commissions 
be  abolished  whenever  possible  and  that  the  Conservation 
Commission,  the  State  Athletic  Commission,  and  preferably 
the  Maryland  Racing  Commission,  be  supplanted  by  single 
commissioners.  The  Public  Sendee  Commission  and  the  State 
Board  of  Motion  Picture  Censors  shall  be  retained  because  of 
the  quasi-judicial  functions  exercised  by  these  agencies.  The 
chairmen  of  these  two  commissions,  however,  shall  be  des- 
ignated as  the  chiefs  of  their  respective  bureaus,  and  shall 
be  made  responsible  to  the  Director  of  the  Department  for 
the  effective  operation  of  the  administrative  and  office  de- 
tails of  their  respective  bureaus. 

In  case  the  state  should  engage  upon  new  activities  in 
the  field  of  regulating  or  providing  service  for  the  business 
interests,  other  bureaus  can  be  created  within  this  department. 
For  example,  it  might  be  desirable  to  establish  a  Bureau  of 
Weights  and  Measures  or  of  Standards.  There  already  exists 
some  demand  for  such  regulation  on  the  part  of  the  state.  The 
state- wide  inspection  of  scales,  weights  and  measures  has  been 
indicated  as  desirable  in  connection  with  farm  produce  and 
coal.  Farmers  selhng  their  produce  in  other  cities  of  the 
state  outside  of  Baltimore  have  felt  that  they  had  no  guarantee 
against  possible  fraud  on  the  part  of  packing  plants  because 
the  state  does  not  inspect  weights  and  measures.  The  coal 
miners  of  western  Maryland  are  also  said  to  desire  a  thorough- 
going inspection  of  weight  scales  at  the  mines.  There  are 
at  present  a  number  of  state  laws  regulating  weights  and  meas- 
ures, particularly  those  relating  to  agricultural  produce,  but 
there  has  never  been  any  machinery  for  the  enforcement  of 
this  legislation. 


48 


Each  of  .the  bureaus  proposed  will  continue  to  perform 
substantially  the  functions  at  present  delegated  by  law  to  the 
units  which  it  is  proposed  shall  be  merged  into  the  Department 
of  Commerce.  The  province  of  the  Land  Office  will  be  ex- 
tended to  include  the  custody  of  State  Archives  and  such  de- 
partmental records  as  must  be  preserved  legally  for  a  number 
of  years  but  to  which  reference  is  seldom  ever  made.  If  the 
functions  of  the  Land  Office  are  broadened  in  this  way  and 
a  service  furnished  to  all  departments  of  the  State  Government 
it  might  prove  more  logical  to  place  the  Bureau  of  the  Land 
Office  and  Archives  within  the  proposed  Executive  Department 
than  within  the  Department  of  Commerce.  In  that  case  it 
would  come  under  the  supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
whom  it  is  proposed  will  head  the  Executive  Department. 
Probably  more  time  will  be  spent  in  Annapolis  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  than  by  the  Director  of  Commerce,  whose  office 
will  presumably  be  located  in  Baltimore,  so  that  supervision 
on  the  part  of  the  former  might  be  more  effective  than  by 
the  latter. 

An  Administrative  Office  shall  be  set  up  for  this  Depart- 
ment, to  be  headed  by  a  Chief  Clerk.  This  office  will  concern 
itself  with  the  administrative  affairs  of  the  Department  as 
a  whole,  will  be  the  point  of  contact  with  other  departments 
and  will  co-ordinate  the  work  of  the  various  bureaus.  The 
head  of  this  office,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Chief  Clerk  proposed 
for  the  Department  of  Welfare,  shall  be  thoroughly  versed 
in  office  procedure  and  methods,  and  shall  be  able  to  assist 
the  commissioners  of  the  various  bureaus  in  standardizing 
and  simplifying  the  "paper  work"  of  their  offices. 

In  drawing  up  legislation  providing  for  the  proposed  de- 
partment, consideration  should  be  given  to  vesting  the  author- 
ity now  vested  in  various  boards  and  individual  commissioners 
(with  the  exception  of  the  Public  Service  Commission)  in  the 
Director  of  the  Department.  He  could  then  delegate  this 
authority  as  he  found  necessasy  to  such  subordinates  as  would 
be  required  for  the  new  department.  This  plan  would  permit 
of  greater  flexibility  in  extablishing  the  new  organization  and 
might  make  possible  certain  combinations  and  a  realignment 
which  would  permit  of  salary  and  other  economies. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  The  administrative  consolidation 
plans  of  six  states,  Illinois,  Idaho,  Nebraska,  Ohio,  Oregon, 
and  South  Carolina,  have  grouped  together  the  various  agencies 
of  the  state,  in  the  consolidation  plans  proposed. 

The  general  tendency  in  the  movement  for  the  administra- 
tive consolidation  of  departments  in  the  various  states  has  been 
in  the  direction  of  the  concentration  within  one  department 
of  all  agencies  concerned  with  the  regulation  of  business. 
In  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  in  fact,  the  public  control 

49     • 


of  corporations  of  all  kinds  has  been  vested  in  single  commis- 
sions. These  have  supervision  over  utilities,  banks,  insurance, 
and  other  kinds  of  business.  Such  a  plan  is  ordinarily  not 
feasible,  however,  because  of  the  specialization  required  in 
order  to  provide  proper  supervision  Over  divergent  kinds  of 
business.  Nevertheless,  in  order  that  a  consistent  and  uniform 
policy  may  be  pursued  by  the  state  in  matters  relating  to 
corporate  control,  it  is  highly  desirable  to  bring  together  the 
various  regulatory  agencies  within  one  department. 

X — Department  of  Labor 

Functions:  The  tenth  proposed  department  is  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  to  which  will  be  assigned  all  activities  concerned 
with  the  welfare  of  the  workers  of  the  state.  It  will  be  charged 
with  'the  enforcement  of  various  labor  laws,  including  those 
regulating  the  employment  of  women  and  children,  those  pro- 
viding for  factory  and  mine  inspection  and  for  workmen's 
compensation.  One  of  its  bureaus  will  administer  the  State 
Industrial  Accident  Fund  and  another  will  furnish  a  stat- 
istical and  information  service  concerning  labor  conditions 
in  the  state.  The  arbitration  and  mediation  of  industrial  dis- 
putes will  also  be  included  within  the  province  of  this  De- 
partment. 

The  new  Department  will  take  over  the  functions  of  the 
existing  Industrial  Accident  Commission,  the  State  Board  of 
Labor  and  Statistics,  and  the  Board  of  Boiler  Rules.  The 
statistical  work  of  the  Industrial  Accident  Commission  should 
be  transferred  to  a  Bureau  of  Statistics  in  the  Department 
of  Labor  and  it  is  believed  a  smaller  departmental  clerical 
staff  would  be  needed  in  that  case.  Arrangements  could  also 
be  made  to  have  the  factory  inspectors  of  the  proposed  de- 
partment undertake  such  investigational  work  as  is  at  present 
required  by  the  Industrial  Accident  Commission. 

Organization:  The  head  of  the  proposed  Department  will 
be  the  Director  of  Labor.  The  departmental  organization 
will  depend  in  part  upon  whether  or  not  the  functions  of  the 
existing  agencies  are  broadened  and  strengthened.  The  sim- 
plest initial  organization  will  be  to  provide  two  bureaus,  a 
Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Inspection  headed  by  a  single  bureau 
chief  or  commissioner  and  embracing  the  functions  of  the 
State  Board  of  Labor  and  Statistics,  and  a  Bureau  of  Work- 
men's Compensation  (or  of  Industrial  Accidents)  headed  by 
the  Chairman  of  the  State  Industrial  Accident  Commission.  In 
the  event  that  a  simple  organization  is  decided  upon,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Industrial  Accident  Commission  might  also 
serve  as  Director  of  the  Department.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  a  finer  subdivision  of  organization  would  be  more  effec- 
tive. 

50 


A  more  satisfactory  organization  and  one  better  able  to 
furnish  adequate  service  will  be  the  following: 

1.  Administrative  Office,  to  handle  administrative  affairs  and  for 

the  time  being,  matters  of  arbitration  and  mediation. 

2.  Bureau  of  Workmen's  Compensation    (or  of  Industrial  Acci- 

dents), with  such  sub-divisions  as  are  necessary  to  carry  out 
the  work  of  the  Industrial  Accident  Commission. 

3.  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  charged  with  the  compilation  of 

statistics  and  the  furnishing  of  information  for  the  entire 
department. 

4.  Bureau  of  Inspections,  embracing  a  Division  of  Factory  Inspec- 

tion, a  Division  of  Mine  Inspection,  and  a  Division  of  Boiler 
Inspection. 

In  case  the  Department  establishes  a  free  employment 
service,  a  Bureau  of  Employment  can  be  created.  In  the 
event  that  the  strike  conciliation  activities  of  the  Department 
are  considerably  increased,  a  separate  Bureau  of  Arbitration 
and  Mediation  can  be  established.  A  Bureau  of  Immigration 
can  also  be  given  consideration.  Each  of  the  bureaus  of  the 
proposed  Department  will  be  headed  by  a  Commissioner, 
except  the  Bureau  of  Workmen's  Compensation,  of  which  the 
Chairman  of  the  Industrial  Accident  Commission  will  be  the 
head.  This  Commission  will  be  continued  as  it  at  present 
exists.  Its  Chairman,  however,  shall  be  held  just  as  re- 
sponsible for  the  effectual  working  out  of  the  administrative 
details  of  his  bureau  as  will  be  the  chiefs  of  the  other  bureaus. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  Proposals  for  administrative  con- 
solidation in  ten  states  have  called  for  the  concentration  of 
the  various  labor  services.  The  title  "Department  of  Labor" 
is  not  universally  used,  although  the  word  "labor"  usually 
appears.  The  plan  proposed  for  Ohio  suggests  the  title  "De- 
partment of  Industrial  Relations".  Centralized  departments 
of  labor  have  been  in  successful  operation  in  Illinois,  Nebraska, 
California,  Idaho,  and  Wisconsin  for  several  years. 

The  uniting  of  the  labor  services  under  one  control  in  other 
states  has  permitted  of  flexibility  in  the  regulations  to  be  ap- 
plied to  labor  conditions  and  has  made  possible  an  alliance 
between  the  administration  of  a  compensation  scheme  and 
the  work  of  accident  prevention,  between  which  at  present 
there  is  no  relationship  whatever  in  Maryland.  From  the 
standpoint  of  accident  prevention,  it  would  be  well  to  have 
a  compensation  law  whose  burden  would  fall  more  heavily 
upon  the  careless  than  upon  the  careful  employer. 

In  Illinois,  where  the  Bureau  of  Workmen's  Compensation 
has  been  headed  by  three  industrial  commissioners,  efforts 
are  being  made  to  center  the  administrative  responsibility 
for  the  work  of  the  bureau  more  definitely  upon  the  Chairman 
of  the  Industrial  Commission.  In  the  Ohio  plan  it  is  proposed 
that  the  director  of  the  department  shall  serve  as  secretary 
of  the  Industrial  Commission,  which  may  be  compared  to  the 
Industrial  Accident  Commission  of  Maryland. 

51 


XI — Department  of  Employment  and  Registration 

Functions:  The  last  department  proposed  under  the  con- 
solidation plan  is  the  Department  of  Employment  and  Regis- 
tration. It  is  to  have  two  principaj  functions-first,  the  se- 
lection, appointment,  and  removal  of  employes  in  the  classified 
service  of  the  State,  and  the  maintaining  of  records  of  their 
efficiency;  and  second,  the  licensing  and  registration  of  the 
eighteen  trades  and  professions  at  present  regulated  by  the 
state,  and  such  additional  vocations  as  may  hereafter  be 
licensed. 

If  organized  as  suggested,  the  Department  will  take  over 
the  work  of  the  present  State  Employment  Commission  and 
the  following  vocational  examining  boards: 

Barber  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Chiropody  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Chiropractic  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Dental  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Engineers,  State  Board  of  Examining,  (Stationary) 

Examiners  and  Supervisors,  Board  of  Electrical 

Horseshoers,  Board  of  Examiners  of 

Homeopathic  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Medical  Examiners,  State  Board  of 

Moving  Picture  Machine  Operators,  Board  of  Examiners  of 

Nurses,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 

Opotometry,  State  Board  of  Examiners  of 

Osteopathic  Examiners,  Board  of 

Pharmacy,  State  Board  of 

Plumbing,  Commissioners  of  Practical 

Public  Accountants,  Board  of  Examiners  of 

Undertakers,  State  Board  of       ) 

Veterinary  Medical  Board 

Organization:  The  department  will  be  under  a  Director  of 
Employment  and  Registration.  If  its  organization  is  based 
on  the  plan  proposed  in  general  for  the  other  departments 
an  Administrative  Office  and  two  bureaus,  a  Bureau  of  Employ- 
ment and  a  Bureau  of  Registration,  would  be  provided.  A 
Chief  Clerk  would  head  the  Administrative  Office  and  assis- 
tant Directors  could  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  bureaus.  The 
Director  could,  if  desired,  also  serve  as  State  Employment 
Commissioner  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Employment. 

A  simple  organization,  however,  and  one  which  would  seem 
to  commend  itself  because  of  its  economy  and  probably  its 
greater  effectiveness,  will  be  to  provide  only  two  divisions 
for  the  department,  an  administrative  or  clerical  office,  and  a 
Bureau  of  Examinations.  Within  the  Administrative  Office 
can  be  handled  all  of  the  correspondence,  record-keeping,  and 
necessary  clerical  work,  including  the  issuance  of  licenses. 
The  Bureau  of  Examination  will  receive  applications  for  ex- 
aminations, and  will  schedule  and  oversee  tests,  not  only  for 
employment  in  the  state  service,  but  for  license  in  the  various 
trades  and  professions.  There  is  a  very  close  relationship 

52 


between  the  work  of  conducting  examinations  for  positions 
in  the  classified  service  of  the  state  and  the  examination 
procedure  required  in  connection  with  vocational  licensing, 
and  much  of  the  same  organization  and  procedure  can  be  used 
in  common  if  these  two  functions  were  grouped  together. 
The  office  and  clerical  work  is  closely  related  in  its  nature 
and  a  similar  procedure  will  be  required  in  holding  either 
civil  service  or  vocational  license  examinations  in  various 
parts  of  the  state.  A  separate  department  of  registration 
can,  of  course,  be  established  but  would  scarcely  seem  to  be 
of  equal  importance  with  the  other  major  departments  pro- 
posed. 

The  members  of  all  the  examining  boards,  including  the 
boards  of  medical  examiners,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Director 
of  the  Department  rather  than  appointed  by  the  Governor 
or  by  private  agencies,  as  at  present.  The  Director  would, 
however,  naturally  confer  with  such  agencies.  An  arrange- 
ment by  which  all  vocational  licenses  will  be  issued  from  a 
central  office  is  one  which  would  be  of  distinct  convenience 
to  the  public,  which  will  know  definitely  where  to  apply  for 
license  or  registration.  At  present  most  of  the  boards  of 
examiners  maintain  no  officers  and  those  that  do  are  unable 
to  provide  employes  to  keep  the  offices  open  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  public.*  Under  the  proposed  plan,  board  members 
will  be  relieved  of  troublesome  clerical  details.  Such  matters 
will  be  handled  in  the  office  of  the  Bureau  of  Registration. 

The  act  providing  for  the  bringing  together  of  these  license 
boards  should  provide  a  uniform  number  of  three  members. 
Such  of  the  present  boards  as  have  been  charged  with  functions 
extraneous  to  thek  licensing  work  should  be  relieved  of  this 
work,  these  matters  being  delegated  to  other  departments. 
The  inspection  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  barber  shops, 
for  example,  should  be  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Public 
Health.  The  inspection  of  electrical  wiring,  now  performed 
by  the  Board  of  Examiners  and  Supervisors,  should  be  dele- 
gated to  the  Electrical  Inspection  Bureau  of  Baltimore  City. 

With  the  centralization  of  the  licensing  activities  of  the  State, 
arrangements  should  be  made  to  extend  the  license  authority 
to  embrace  the  entire  state  in  the  case  of  such  of  the  boards 
as  do  not  at  present  have  such  jurisdiction.  Arrangements 
can  be  made  with  local  police  or  other  authorities  to  enforce 

*  Note:  One  of  the  first  duties  with  which  the  Director  of  Employ- 
ment and  Registration  should  be  charged  under  an  act  providing  for 
co-ordination  of  the  various  examining  boards  would  be  to  standardize 
the  practice  with  regard  to  the  amount  of  fees  charged  and  the  renewing 
of  licenses,  in  so  far  as  standardization  is  practicable.  Certain  stand- 
ardizing of  the  certificates  and  other  forms  in  .use  in  connection  with 
the  various  boards  should  also  be  undertaken . 

53 


the  provisions  relating  to  the  license  and  registration  of  various 
vocations. 

Precedents  in  Other  States:  Such  a  consolidation  of  the  civil 
service  and  registration  work  of  the  state  is  being  effectively 
conducted  in  Massachusetts.  In  speaking  of  its  operation 
there,  the  Director  of  Registration  recently  said:  "We  have 
assembled  our  eight  boards,  medicine,  pharmacy,  dentistry, 
optometry,  nurses,  embalming,  veterinary  medicine,  and  elec- 
tricians, into  one  division  under  the  supervision  of  a  director. 
This  does  not  interfere  with  the  individual  functions  of  the 
various  boards  but  it  is  a  move  toward  efficiency.  I  feel 
this  is  a  move  in  the  right  direction."  He  added  that  the 
plan  was  not  only  working  successfully  but  was  popular  with 
the  Legislature. 

Other  states  have  also  adopted  or  are  considering  plans 
for  bringing  together  the  various  vocational  license  boards. 
In  Nebraska  the  license  function  is  successfully  administered 
under  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  and  in  Illinois  under 
the  Department  of  Education  and  Registration.  In  Idaho 
a  consolidation  under  the  Department  of  Law  Enforcement 
has  been  effected.  A  recent  proposal  in  Ohio  calls  for  the 
establishment  of  a  separate  Department  of  Examination. 

4 

Office  oj  the  State  Comptroller 

It  is  proposed  that  an  independent  office  of  audit  and  control 
be  created  outside  of  the  twelve  executive  departments  to  be 
known  as  the  "  Office  of  the  State  Comptroller' '  to  stand  mid- 
way between  the  administrative  and  the  legislative  branches 
of  the  state  government.  Its  head  will  not  be  a  member  of 
the  Governor's  cabinet,  but  responsible  directly  to  the  General 
Assembly.  The  considerations  upon  which  this  proposal  is 
based  and  the  functions  that  the  office  should  assume  are 
fully  set  forth  in  Appendix  A  of  this  report  which  will  follow. 

The  officer  at  the  head  of  this  unit  will  have  the  title  of 
State  Comptroller.  The  State  Comptroller  at  present  elected 
by  the  people  will  serve  as  the  head  of  the  new  office  bearing 
his  name  until  the  constitution  is  amended  to  provide  for  his 
selection  by  the  General  Assembly.  There  will  be  two  or- 
ganizational divisions  in  this  office: 

The  Accounts  Division 
The  Audit  Division 


54 


APPENDIX  A 
THE  FINANCE  ORGANIZATION 

In  finance  organization  two  groups  of  activities  should  be 
recognized ;  the  first  including  activities  involved  in  the  financial 
transactions  that  are  arranged  for  and  carried  out  as  a  part 
of  the  operation  of  the  business;  and  the  second  including  the 
independent  review  and  audit  of  the  affairs  of  officials  responsi- 
ble for  such  financial  transactions.  The  audit  should  compel 
the  enforcement  of  laws,  regulations  and  executive  orders  and 
should  ensure  the  maintenance  of  adequate  accounting  stand- 
ards. 

It  has  come  to  be  generally  accepted  as  the  consensus  of 
authorities  that  independent  organization  units  should  be  set 
up  to  take  care  of  these  two  sides  of  financial  administration, 
management  of  finance  and  accounting  on  the  one  hand  and 
audit  control  on  the  other.  The  first  of  these  should  be  under 
the  general  direction  of  the  executive.  The  organization  deal- 
ing with  the  enforcement  of  laws  and  regulations  and  checking 
the  work  of  the  other  group  should  have  a  measure  of 
independence. 

In  some  organizations  a  third  group  of  activities  is  set  out 
as  distinct,  viz: — the  custody  of  the  funds  of  the  organization. 
Some  years  ago  the  custody  of  funds  was  the  only  independent 
factor  recognized,  the  modern  idea  of  audit  not  having  been 
developed.  To-day  it  is  generally  considered  that  the  custody 
of  funds  is  a  very  simple  matter.  The  full  development  of  an 
audit  procedure  and  the  creation  of  an  independent  reviewing 
and  auditing  office  constitutes  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  the 
integrity  of  the  treasurer  and  at  the  same  time  makes  possible 
a  thorough  and  valuable  control  of  the  financial  operations 
of  the  organization. 

The  highest  development  of  the  independent  governmental 
auditing  office  is  seen  in  the  British  system  of  government 
and  in  the  systems  of  the  British  dominions.  In  these  countries 
the  auditor  holds  a  position  which  is  said  to  be  half  way  between 
the  executive  and  legislative  branches. 

Under  a  plan  proposed  for  the  United  States  Government 
and  incorporated  in  the  budget  bills  recently  passed  by  the 
Houses  of  Congress  an  independent  auditing  office  is  to  be 
created.  This  office  termed  "The  General  Accounting  Office" 
is  to  have  accounting  functions  associated  with  the  problems 
of  audit.  The  attention  of  the  public  has  been  centered  on 
the  budget  provisions  of  the  act  passed  by  Congress  and  not 
upon  the  provisions  respecting  financial  organization  although 
the  latter  probably  are  of  equal  practical  importance. 

Financial  powers  and  duties  related  to  executive  direction 
undoubtedly  should  be  exercised  through  the  medium  of  a 
central  department  of  finance,  the  chief  of  which  should  be 

55 


responsible  to  the  chief  executive.  All  financial  activities 
except  those  of  review  and  audit  should  be  supervised  by  this 
department.  The  reason  for  consolidating  financial  affairs 
is  simply  that  the  effectiveness  of  a  single  organization  unit 
under  the  leadership  of  a  competent  director  is  greater  than 
that  of  separate  branches  carrying  on  parts  of  the  work 
independently. 

Functions  logically  pertaining  to  the  finance  or  treasury 
department  responsible  to  the  Governor  are: 

(1)  Keeping  the  central  books  of  the  government. 

(2)  Receiving,  safeguarding,  and  disbursing  public  funds. 

(3)  Supervising  the  collection  of  revenue. 

(4)  Assisting  the  executive  in  exercising  supervision  over 
the  expenditure  of  public  moneys. 

(5)  Assisting  the  executive  in  the  work  of  preparing  the 
estimates  and  the  budget. 

(6)  Central  purchasing  and  store-keeping. 

There  is  no  department  of  the  government  which  should 
so  directly  represent  and  carry  out  the  powers  of  the  governor 
as  the  finance  or  treasury  department.  In  every  country  and 
state  where  the  executive  is  given  the  responsibilities  and 
powers  which  he  should  have  with  regard  to  financial  matters 
he  has  the  assistance  of  a  chief  financial  officer. 

The  functions  of  the  independent  financial  department  or 
office  may  be  referred  to  as  those  of  the  auditor  general.  By 
keeping  accounting  records  for  purposes  of  control  and  by 
reviewing  the  financial  affairs  of  the  state,  this  office  should  be 
able  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  appropriation  acts  and 
financial  legislation  as  well  as  the  rules  and  orders  of  executive 
officers  and  the  standards  of  financial  administration  intended 
to  be  observed  throughout  the  service.  The  influence  of  the 
office  should  extend  to  all  departments.  The  state's  guarantee 
that  all  financial  affairs  are  properly  managed  by  the  Governor 
and  all  branches  of  the  service  should  be  that  every  act  related 
to  public  monies  or  property  must  be  passed  or  at  least  re- 
ported upon  by  the  office  of  the  auditor  general  or  comptroller. 

One  of  the  important  functions  of  the  independent  auditing 
and  controlling  office  should  be  to  criticise  and  offer  construc- 
tive suggestions  with  regard  to  methods  of  financial  admini- 
stration. Criticisms,  including  references  to  specific  errors 
and  irregularities  and  comments  on  general  weaknesses  in 
system,  should  constitute  an  important  part  of  the  annual 
report  to  the  Governor  and  legislature. 

The  extent  to  which  the  auditing  department  may  keep 
the  state's  accounts,  is  often  a  matter  of  little  importance. 
The  keeping  of  certain  summary  and  detailed  records  belongs 
logically  to  the  function  of  independent  control.  Where  the 

56 


independent  financial  office  has  been  given  wider  accounting 
responsibility  and  keeps  detailed  accounting  records  which 
are  necessary  but  are  not  strictly  a  part  of  its  principal  work, 
there  is  generally  no  reason  why  sweeping  changes  need  be 
made. 

Certain  classes  of  decisions  to  be  made  by  the  executive 
branch  in  connection  with  financial  matters  are  of  such  impor- 
tance that  it  is  not  uncommon  for  states  to  enact  legislation 
providing  for  an  executive  council  consisting  of  the  governor 
and  other  state  officials,  including  the  independent  auditor 
general  or  comptroller,  and  frequently  also  including  repre- 
sentatives of  the  legislature.  Although  the  creation  of  such 
bodies  cannot  be  defended  insofar  as  they  are  administrative 
in  character,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  responsibility  for 
discretionary  action  of  a  quasi-legislative  nature  may  often 
be  properly  placed  with  a  group  of  individuals  rather  than 
with  the  chief  executive  alone. 

APPRAISAL   OF   PRESENT   FINANCE    ORGANIZATION 

The  controlling  officers  and  bodies  now  dealing  with  the 
general  financial  and  auditing  problems  of  the  State  of  Mary- 
land are  the  following: 

The  Governor 

The  State  Comptroller 

The  Treasurer 

The  Board  of  Public  Works 

The  State  Tax  Commission 

The  Purchasing  Bureau 

The  State  Auditor 

The  Governor  as  chief  executive  of  the  state  may  be  expected 
to  assume  general  responsibility  for  all  problems  of  financial 
administration  especially  those  not  specifically  assigned  to  the 
attention  of  some  other  official.  Section  18  of  Article  II  of 
the  Constitution  provides  that  the  Governor  shall  twice  a 
year  "examine  under  oath  the  Treasurer  and  Comptroller  of 
the  State  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  their  respective  offices 
and  inspect  and  review  their  bank  and  other  account  books." 
The  extensive  powers  given  to  the  Governor  under  the  section 
of  the  Constitution  dealing  with  the  budget  need  not  be  re- 
viewed here. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  Comptroller  "shall  have 
general  superintendence  of  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  State," 
and  it  specifically  assigns  to  him  many  duties  connected  with 
revenue  collection,  the  settlement  of  claims,  the  control  of 
disbursements  from  the  treasury,  the  prescribing  of  forms  of 
accounts,  the  administration  of  the  State  debt,  etc.  Although 
the  Comptroller  is  independent  of  the  Governor  the  Constitu- 
tion does  not  indicate  a  clear  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
responsibilities  of  the  chief  executive  and  those  of  the  Comp- 
troller. The  form  of  finance  organization  as  set  forth  in  the 

57 


Constitution  evidently  follows  the  early  principle  of  "check- 
and-balance"  and  divided  responsibility  developed  with  the 
idea  of  preventing  the  usurpation  of  improper  authority 
rather  than  with  the  idea  of  securing  *a  strong  central  organi- 
zation and  the  placing  of  responsibility.  In  actual  practice 
the  scope  of  the  authority  of  the  Comptroller  cannot  be  said 
to  be  so  wide  as  that  implied  by  the  terms  "general  superin- 
tendence of  fiscal  affairs"  used  in  the  Constitution.  The 
Comptroller's  office  resembles,  in  fact,  an  independent  account- 
ing and  controlling  office  such  as  that  described  above.  The 
Comptroller  is  elected  by  popular  vote. 

The  Treasurer's  duties  are  those  which  the  name  of  the 
office  implies,  viz;  the  receiving  and  depositing  of  state  funds, 
the  writing  of  checks  upon  the  state's  account,  the  signing 
of  evidences  of  state  indebtedness,  the  keeping  of  certain 
accounts,  etc.  In  actual  practical  importance  the  office  of 
Treasurer  is  not  adequately  described  by  reference  to  the 
specific  duties  assigned  to  it.  It  is  recognized  that  the  incum- 
bent of  the  office  should  be  a  man  whose  advice  on  financial 
matters  will  be  of  material  value  to  the  state.  The  Treasurer's 
responsibilities  with  regard  to  borrowing  are  great.  The 
Treasurer  is  elected  by  the  legislature. 

The  Board  of  Public  Works  possesses  under  various  statutes 
a  considerable  amount  of  authority  with  regard  to  financial 
administration.  The  State  Auditor  must  report  to  the  Board 
of  Public  Works;  it  is  evidently  intended  that  the  Board 
shall  take  action  to  correct  irregular  practices  and  violations 
of  law  reported  by  the  State  Auditor.  The  Board  of  Public 
Works  is  authorized  to  direct  offices  and  institutions  to  adopt 
specified  methods  of  conducting  their  affairs,  and  of  keeping 
their  books  and  accounts.  It  seems  to  hold  general  financial 
powers  of  a  quasi-legislative  nature. 

The  State  Tax  Commission  has  general  supervision  of  the 
assessment  and  tax  systems  of  the  state.  Its  duties  are  in  the 
main  distinct  from  those  of  the  other  financial  officials.  It 
controls  the  work  of  a  staff  which  supervises  local  assessments 
and  makes  assessments  of  corporation  property.  It  acts  in  a 
quasi-judicial  capacity  to  decide  tax  questions  appealed  from 
local  officials.  The  three  Tax  Commissioners  are  appointed 
by  the  Governor. 

The  Purchasing  Bureau  is  required  to  direct  the  work  of 
central  purchasing  and  to  prescribe  the  rules  and  regulations 
under  which  estimates  of  requirements  shall  be  prepared  and 
requisitions  upon  the  Purchasing  Agent  made.  The  Bureau 
must  also  prescribe  rules  and  regulations  governing  methods 
of  purchases  and  determine  and  lay  down  standards  for  sup- 
plies purchased.  The  Bureau  consists  of  a  large  number  of 
state  officers,  representing  the  various  organization  units  of 
the  state  requiring  supplies. 

58 


The  State  Auditor,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Public 
Works,  conducts  annual  examinations  of  the  accounts  of  the 
state  and  county  offices  as  provided  by  law,  and  of  such  other 
state  departments  and  institutions  as  directed  by  the  Comp- 
troller or  the  Board  of  Public  Works.  In  so  far  as  his  time 
permits,  he  is  expected  to  assist  in  the  installation  and  stand- 
ardization of  departmental  accounting  systems. 

The  wording  of  the  Constitution  implies  the  existence  of  a 
Treasury  Department,  consisting  of  the  Comptroller  and  the 
Treasurer.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  work  of  the  Treasurer's 
Office  and  that  of  the  Comptroller's  Office  are  closely  associated, 
but  there  is  no  such  unity  as  to  justify  reference  to  the  com- 
bined offices  as  a  single  department  in  the  ordinary  sense  of 
the  word. 

The  principal  defects  in  the  present  organization  for  financial 
administration  are  the  following: 

(1)  There  is  no  official  of  the  state  now  recognized  as  being  responsi- 
ble to  the  Governor  for  the  advice  and  assistance  needed  on  all  problems 
of  finance  and  financial  control.     It  is  believed  that  adequate  study 
of  all  problems  of  finance  and  the  development  of  a  system  of  financial 
administration  meeting  the  requirements  of  centralized  administration 
is  almost  impossible  so  long  as  the  Governor  is  not  assisted  by  a  full 
time  general  financial  official. 

(2)  There  is  no  office  responsible  for  control  and  enforcement  of  the 
budget  and  estimating  system  and  for  securing  the  information  needed 
to  compile  the  budget  and  review  the  estimates  of  departments. 

(3)  The  independent  accounting  and  auditing  office  under  the  Comp- 
troller is  not  given  the  complete  powers  and  authority  to  direct  all 
work  of  review  and  audit  needed  to  permit  the  development  of  its  full 
influence  and  usefulness. 

The  above  organization  defects  may  be  considered  to  advan- 
tage in  connection  with  the  problem  of  putting  into  effect 
improved  financial  methods.  Few  proposals  for  extensive 
changes  can  be  put  into  effect  without  the  cooperation  of  state 
officers  whose  positions  insure  their  appreciation  of  the  needs 
and  their  active  support  of  the  work.  The  Governor's  inter- 
ests should  be  represented  by  an  officer  who  will  take  up  the 
'problem  of  financial  administration  as  an  element  in  executive 
direction.  The  specific  problems  of  the  budget  should  be 
assigned  to  some  one  thoroughly  familiar  with  budget  problems 
and  representing  the  financial  administration  in  this  field. 
Audit  questions  should  be  given  the  attention  of  an  officer 
responsible  for  the  whole  field  of  independent  review  and 
control.  The  correction  of  the  three  organization  defects 
enumerated  above  are  necessary  to  permit  all  financial  problems 
taken  up  in  this  report  to  be  dealt  with  adequately. 

RECOMMENDATIONS    WITH    REGARD    TO    FINANCE    ORGANIZATION 

To  correct  the  defects  in  the  present  organization  for  financial 
administration  the  following  changes  are  needed: 

(1)  Provision  should  be  made  to  permit  the  Governor's  interests 
in  financial  administration  to  be  represented  by  a  full  time  official  who 
shall  have  charge  ot  all  central  fiscai  affairs  involved  in  the  executive 
direction  of  the  state's  business. 

59 


(2)  The  functions  and  duties  of  the  several  agencies  and  officials 
at  present  concerned  with  matters  pertaining  to  financial  administra- 
tion should  be  placed  under  this  officer. 

(3)  This  official  should  be  given  general  charge  of  the  work  of  depart- 
ments and  institutions  in  so  far  as  accounting  and  financial  policies 
and  methods  are  concerned. 

(4)  A  bureau  should  be  established  under  this  official  to  take  care 
of  work  connected  with  the  preparation  of  the  budget,  the  review  of 
departmental  estimates,   the   central   control  of  expenditures   in  the 
interests  of  the  executive,  and  the  effecting  of  improvements  in  depart- 
mental organization  and  procedure. 

(5)  The  office  of  State  Auditor  should  be  placed  under  the  Comp- 
troller and  the  organization  of  the  Comptroller's  office  planned  with  a 
view  to  securing  a  current  audit  so  far  as  possible  under  the  treasury 
system  employed. 

With  a  view  to  effecting  these  changes  the  following  recom- 
mendations are  made : 

(1)  That  there  be  created  by  statute  a  department  of  finance  or 
treasury  department  to  exercise  all  executive  functions  of  central 
financial  administration,  that  is,  all  functions  except  those  of  inde- 
pendent audit  and  control.     This  department  should  embrace: 

A  bureau  of  budget  and  investigations, 

A  bureau  of  treasury  and  accounts,   (after  amending  the 

constitution) 
A  bureau  of  taxation, 
A  bureau  of  purchase  and  supply. 

(2)  That  the  chief  of  this  department  be  the  Director  of  Finance  of 
the  State,  an  official  compensated  for  full  tune  work  and  appointed  by 
the  Governor. 

(3)  That  steps  be  taken  to  secure  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  State  repealing  all  sections  describing  the  duties  of  the  State 
Treasurer  and  substituting  sections  providing  for  a  Director  of  Finance 
(who  shall  act  as  Treasurer)  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

(4)  That  the  Comptroller's  office  be  recognized  as  the  independent 
auditing  and  accounting  office,  the  scope  of  the  work  of  the  office  being 
in  no  respect  limited  as  compared  with  the  work  it  now  does  and  the 
duties  of  the  office  being  broadened  by  a  statute  giving  the  office  the 
work  of  the  present  State  Auditor.     The  office  should  embrace : 

An  Accounts  Division 
An  Audit  Division 

(5)  That  steps  be  taken  to  secure  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
to  remove  the  limits  placed  upon  the  Comptroller's  salary  and  provide 
that  the  Comptroller  be  selected  by  the  General  Assembly. 

(6)  That  an  advisory  body  on  financial  policy,  to  be  known  as  the 
Treasury  Council,  be  created.     This  Council   should  be  made  up  of  the 
Governor,  the  Director  of  Finance,  the  State  Comptroller,   and  the 
chairmen  of  the  appropriations  committees  of  the  respective  Houses 
of  the  General  Assembly.     The  Governor  should  have  two  votes  and 
each  of  the  other  members  one  vote  in  order  that  the  administration 
may  have  an  equal  voice  with  the  legislative  branch  in  the  determina- 
tion of  financial  policies.     All  of  the  acts  of  the  Council    should  be 
through  the  medium  of  formal  treasury  orders  passed  at  duly  constitu- 
ed  meetings :  the  members  should  have  no  authority  as  individuals. 
The  Council  should  take  over  the  financial  functions  at  present  ex- 
ercised by  the  Board  of  Public  Works,  which  should  then  be  discon 
tinued,  and  in  general  it  should  have  certain  powers,  in  addition  to  its 
advisory  duties,  over  such  matters  as  the  transfer  of  appropriations, 
the  designating  of  official  disbursing  officers  and  of  officers  qualified  to 
incur  obligations,  the  regulation  of  the  investment  of  public  funds,  the 
designating  of  state  depositories,  and  the  like. 

60 


APPENDIX  B 

CONSOLIDATION  PROPOSALS  IN  OTHER  STATES- 
EXPERIENCE  AND  TESTIMONY 

Evils  oj  Decentralization  oj  Authority 

Governor  Alfred  E.  Smith  of  New  York— October,  1919. 
Governor  Arthur  M.  Hyde  of  Missouri — January,  1921. 
Illinois — Efficiency  and  Economy  Committee — June,  1914. 
President  Taft's   Commission   on   Economy  and   Effici- 
ency— October,  1911. 
Governors'  Messages — 1921. 
.  Governor  Thomas  C.  McRae  of  Arkansas — January,  1921. 

Advantages  oj  Consolidation 

Governor  Frank  O.  Lowden  of  Illinois — 1919. 

Committee  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform,  Iowa  Legisla- 
ture—1914. 

Governor  Samuel  R.  McKelvie  of  Nebraska— 1921. 

Tax  Payers'  Association  of  California  on  Nebraska  Plan — 
1919. 

Increased  Authority  j  or  the  Governor 

Reconstruction  Commission  of  New  York — October,  1919. 
Survey  Committee  of  State  Affairs  of  Colorado — 1916. 
State  Efficiency  and  Trade  Commission  of  Montana — 
November,  1919. 

Evils  of  Decentralization  of  Authority: 

Governor  Aljred  E.  Smith:  The  situation  in  the  State  of 
New  York  as  to  the  lack  of  executive  control  and  as  expressed 
by  Governor  Alfred  E.  Smith  in  October,  1919,  may  well  be 
compared  to  that  in  Maryland.  The  Governor  said: 

"The  people  of  this  State  think  that  the  Governor  has  control  over 
administration.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  is  constantly  being  charged 
with  responsibility  for  administrative  activities  over  which  he  has  no 
control.  The  voters  of  this  State  should  ask  themselves  these  questions : 

"I.  How  can  a  Governor  be  responsible  for  the  administration  of 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  agencies  scattered  all  over  the  State  and 
directed  by  boards,  commissions  and  individuals  whom  the  Governor 
in  most  cases  does  not  appoint  and  cannot  remove? 

"2.  How  can  a  Governor  be  responsible  for  appropriations  and  the 
amount  of  State  taxes  when  he  has  practically  no  power  in  making  the 
budget,  except  the  power  of  veto,  which  power,  as  existing,  compels  the 
Governor  to  accept  an  item  in  toto  or  reject  it  entirely? 

"The  people  must  give  tjja  Governor  authority  if  they  want  to  hold 
him  responsible." 

Governor  Arthur  M.  Hyde:  Governor  Arthur  M.  Hyde  of 
Missouri,  in  a  special  message  to  the  legislature  in  January, 
1921,  said: 

"The  Executive  Department  is  still  further  broken  up  by  legislative 
enactments  which  have  created  numerous  offices,  boards  and  commis- 
sions to  transact  the  details  of  the  Executive  Department.  The  per- 

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sonnel  of  these  various  offices  is  generally  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
but  his  power  to  demand  accountability,  or  enforce  economy,  usually 
passes  from  his  hand,  for  practical  purposes,  with  the  appointment.  " 

"All  of  this  has  been  done  in  the  name  of  democracy  and  to  prevent 
centralization  of  control.  The  process  has  defeated  its  owrn  purpose. 

"1.  It  has  subdivided  the  Executive  Department  with  the  Governor, 
the  nominal  head,  to  bear  the  responsibility  before  the  public,  but  with 
the  real  responsibility  impossible  to  fix. 

"2.  It  has  aided  the  development  of  the  invisible  government,  and 
the  boss  system,  wThich  is  the  very  object  the  decentralization  sought 
to  prevent. 

"3.  The  Executive  Department  cannot  be  coordinated  nor  made 
efficient  under  it. 

"4.  It  is  conducive  to  waste  and  extravagance." 

Illinois — Efficiency  and  Economy  Committee :  The  Efficiency 
and  Economy  Committee  of  the  Illinois  Legislature  in  its 
preliminary  report,  June  18,  1914,  commented  on  the  evils 
of  decentralization  as  follows: 

"As  a  result  of  these  investigations,  your  committee  finds  that  a 
condition  of  disorganization  and  confusion  exists  in  the  executive  de- 
partments which  necessarily  produces  inefficiency  and  waste  in  the  state 
services.  The  unnecessary  duplication  of  positions  and  salaries  is  a 
considerable  item;  but  this  is  the  smallest  part  of  the  loss.  The  work 
that  is  undertaken  is  not  well  done,  and  costs  much  more  than  with  a 
more  efficient  organization.  The  lack  of  proper  supervision  of  the  sev- 
eral departments  and  the  absence  of  cordial  cooperation  between  them 
necessarily  produces  inefficiency  and  waste.  The  executive  organiza- 
tion as  now  determined  by  law  burdens  the  Governor  with  a  mass  of 
unnecessary  detail,  and  does  not  afford  him  the  time  nor  the  facilities 
for  the  proper  determination  of  the  more  important  questions  of  admin- 
istrative and  legislative  policy.  It  fails  to  provide  the  General  Assem- 
bly with  adequate  information  or  advice  to  enable  it  to  perform  its  work 
wisely;  and  it  fails  to  give  the  general  public  a  satisfactory  knowledge 
of  the  work  that  is  done,  or  any  means  for  determining  the  responsibility 
for  what  is  not  done  or  is  done  badly." 

President  Taft's  Commission  on  Economy  and  Efficiency.  The 
shortcomings  of  the  federal  administrative  organization  were 
discussed  as  follows  by  the  Economy  and  Efficiency  Commis- 
sion in  its  report  to  President  Taft  on  October  30,  1911: 

"The  result  is  a  scheme  of  administrative  organization  in  which  but 
comparatively  little  conscious  effort  has  been  made  to  integrate  the 
parts  into  a  systematic  whole,  so  that  the  duty  to  be  performed  will  be 
most  advantageously  assigned,  unnecessary  work  prevented,  and  dupli- 
cations and  overlapping  eliminated.  In  like  manner  the  laws  and  reg- 
ulations determining  how  the  work  shall  be  performed,  what  shall  be  the 
business  practices  and  procedure  followed,  where  the  responsibility  shall 
be  located,  as  well  as  the  character  and  extent  of  this  responsibility, 
have  come  into  existence  only  as  the  problems  presented  by  the  several 
services  have  come  before  Congress  or  the  administration  tor  consid- 
eration, and  not  in  response  to  an  organized  effort  to  determine  defi- 
nitely what  conditions  should  obtain  for  the  best  advantage  of  the 
Government  as  a  whole.  As  a  result  almost  the  widest  diversity  of  law, 
regulation,  and  practice  is  in  evidence  concerning  nearly  every  feature 
of  the  administration  of  public  affairs.  Only  in  exceptional  cases  have 
successful  efforts  been  made  to  standardize  practice  and  procedure,  thus 
to  obtain  advantages  in  increased  economy  and  efficiency." 

62 


Governors'  Messages:  More  than  twenty  governors  of  various 
states  recommended  consolidation  and  the  short  ballot  to  the 
state  legislatures  which  convened  this  year.  Governor  Dixon 
of  Montana  declared: 

"Let  us  nominate  and  elect  the  chief  executive  of  the  state,  then 
give  him  full  power  to  name  his  assistants  in  administering  the  various 
departments  of  the  state  government,  and  we  will  know  exactly  where 
to  place  our  finger  in  locating  blame  or  praise.  In  that  way  only  will 
we  do  away  with  this  eternal  pulling  and  hauling  at  Helena.  In  that 
way  only  will  we  get  rid  of  these  superfluous  and  overlapping  jurisdic- 
tions of  dozens  of  'state  boards'  and  'commissions'  with  their  army  of 
tax-eating  employes.  In  that  way  only  can  Montana  secure  efficient, 
economical  government  for  our  state  affairs. 

"The  'Chinese  Puzzle'  of  state  government  in  Montana  is  yearly 
becoming  more  and  more  complicated.  We  will  never  solve  it  until 
we  cut  the  Gbrdian  knot  ana  enact  the  'short  ballot'  for  elective 
officials." 

Governor  Cox  of  Massachusetts  also  emphasized  the  growing 
tendency  to  center  genuine  responsibility  in  the  governor, 
and  demanded  further  authority  to  appoint  the  heads  of  the 
various  departments. 

Governor  Goodrich  of  Indiana,  speaking  after  four  years 
of  executive  service,  said : 

"A  large  number  of  state  boards  should  be  eliminated,  and  the 
various  functions  of  such  offices  and  boards  should  be  consolidated 
with  a  few  state  departments  which  are  responsible  to  one  chief 
executive." 

Governor  McRae  of  Arkansas,  and  Governor  Hyde  of  Mis- 
souri made  the  elimination  of  boards  and  commissions  the 
paramount  issue  in  their  campaigns  for  governor,  and  the 
latter  was  supported  whole-heartedly  by  the  1921  legislature, 
a  comprehensive  program  of  consolidation  now  being  in  the 
process  of  installation  in  Missouri. 

Governor  Thomas  C.  McRae:  In  a  recent  campaign  Governor 
Thomas  C.  McRae  of  Arkansas,  declared: 

"Commissions  are  the  spawn  of  autocracy ;  they  imply  distrust  of  the 
people  and  have  no  proper  place  in  a  democracy.  They  are  wasteful 
in  money,  reckless  in  methods,  oppressive  in  spirit  and  ruinous  in 
effect.  If  Arkansas  is  to  be  saved  from  impending  bankruptcy,  she 
should  harken  back  to  the  spirit  of  her  splendid  organic  law  and  rid  the 
tax  payers  of  the  many  sinecures  and  supernumerary  bodies  now  loaded 
on  them." 

"The  claim  made  by  many  good  people  that  an  unpaid  board  will  not 
function  promptly  and  properly,  is  not  borne  out  by  the  history  of  hon- 
orary boards,  both  in  this  ana  other  States.  The  truth  is,  salaried 
boards  or  commissions  do  not,  as  a  rule,  function  harmoniously,  and 
almost  without  exception  they  are  cohtrolled  or  influenced  by  politics 
and  politicians.  It  is  equally  true  that  a  better  class  or  men  and 
women  are  obtainable  for  service  upon  honorary  boards  than  upon 
salaried  boards." 


Advantages  of  Consolidation: 

Governor  Frank  0.  Lowden:  The  results  of  administrative 
consolidation  in  Illinois,  in  addition  to  a  subsequent  decrease 
in  the  tax  rate,  were  discussed  in  1919  before  the  Legislature 
by  Governor  Lowden  as  follows: 

"The  civil  administrative  code  went  into  effect  on  July  1,  1917.  It 
amounted  to  a  revolution  in  government.  Under  it  a  reorganziation 
of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty -five  boards,  commissions  and  in- 
dependent agencies  was  effected.  Nine  departments,  with  extensive 
and  real  power  vested  in  each  head  have  taken  the  place  of  those  bodies, 
which  were  abolished,  and  discharge,  under  the  general  supervision  of 
the  governor,  the  details  of  government  for  which  the  governor  is 
responsible.  At  the  time  the  bill  was  up  for  consideration  it  was 
claimed  that  it  would  result  in  both  efficiency  and  economy. 

"It  has  more  than  justified  all  the  expectations  that  were  formed 
concerning  it.  The  functions  of  the  government  are  discharged  at  the 
capitol.  The  governor  is  in  daily  contact  with  his  administration  in 
all  its  activities,  Unity  and  harmony  of  administration  have  been 
attained,  and  vigor  and  energy  of  administration  enhanced. 

"Illinois,  through  the  greater  elasticity  and  efficiency  of  her  new 
form  of  government,  was  able  to  meet  every  emergency  of  the  war 
without  an  extraordinary  session  of  her  legislature. 

"The  appropriations  made  by  the  last  general  assembly  were  based 
upon  pre-war  prices  and  conditions.  And  yet,  we  will  have  completed 
the  biennium  without  a  deficiency  in  any  department  under  the  code, 
with  the  exception  of  the  item  of  supplies  for  the  charitable  and  penal 
institutions  in  the  department  of  public  welfare." 

Committee  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform,  Iowa  Legislature: 
The  Committee  on  Retrenchment  and  Reform  of  the  Iowa 
General  Assembly,  recommending  the  delegation  of  additional 
responsibility  to  the  Governor,  in  1914  reported: 

"We  believe  the  state  will  receive  better  service,  if  instead  of  the 
present  diffusion  of  powers  and  responsibilities,  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  state's  business  activities  be  placed  under  direct  super- 
vision of  department  heads,  those  department  heads  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Governor  and  to  serve  subject  to  his  wish,  thus  making  the  Gov- 
ern or  the  real  administrative  head  of  the  state — the  real  source  of 
authority  and  concomitant  responsibility." 

Governor  Samuel  R.  McKelvie:  There  appears  no  good  rea- 
son why  centralized  control  for  Maryland  should  not  'prove 
as  profitable  as  it  has  for  Nebraska.  The  new  Civil  Admin- 
istrative Code  was  passed  by  the  legislature  in  1919  but  ap- 
propriation bills  for  the  succeeding  biennium  were  made  on 
the  basis  of  the  organization  of  the  previously  existing  agencies. 
The  Secretary  of  Finance  early  this  year  declared  that  for  the 
first  time  in  years  the  state  government  had  lived  within 
the  appropriations  made  by  the  legislature,  and  that  an  un- 
expended balance  of  nearly  $200,000  remained  in  the  treasury 
for  the  years  1919  and  1920. 

Governor  McKelvie  stated  that  the  actual  cash  surplus 
was  perhaps  the  least  important  benefit  obtained  under  ad- 
ministrative consolidation.  Far  more  important,  he  stated, 

64 


was  the  increased  effectiveness  of  operation  which  resulted, 
and  the  great  improvement  in  the  service  furnished  the  public 
and  the  increased  efficiency  of  and  larger  volume  of  work 
performed  by  the  employes  of  the  state.  He  explained  that 
these  benefits  were  less  tangible  and  difficult  to  interpret  in 
dollars  and  cents  but  that  they  have  resulted  in  obtaining 
tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  of  additional  service  from  the 
legislative  appropriations. 

"The  operations  of  this  plan  of  administrative  consolidation  have 

Eroven  its  practicability,"  declared  Governor  McKelvie.  "Not  only 
as  it  added  greatly  to  efficiency  in  the  administration  of  the  state's 
business,  but  it  has  effected  a  genuine  economy  in  the  cost  of  admin- 
istrative government  within  these  departments.  Moreover,  it  has 
provided  for  an  adequate  control  over  reporting,  auditing  and  expending 
the  public  money." 

Tax  Payers'  Association  of  California  on  Nebraska  Plan: 
Further  comment  on  the  Nebraska  plan  appears  in  a  statement 
issued  last  year  by  the  Director  of  the  Tax  Payers  Association 
of  California,  which  made  a  study  of  the  government  of  various 
States  and  was  particularly  impressed  with  Nebraska.  Mr. 
Will  H.  Fischer,  the  Director  in  question,  is  quoted  as  follows: 

"I  feel  sure,  however,  that  you  and  all  those  who  have  had  a  part  in 
establishing  the  new  system,  your  .legislators,  the  secretaries  of  the 
several  departments,  the  bureau  and  divisional  chiefs,  and  those  citi- 
zens who  have  given  their  co-operation,  will  feel  a  pardonable  pride  in 
the  record  made  from  the  outset. 

"You  will  have  a  far  more  comprehensive  set  of  reports  than  were 
ever  obtainable  before,  showing  the  people  just  what  service  has  been 
rendered. 

"You  will  be  able  to  give  as  thorough  an  accounting,  financially,  as 
can  be  rendered  by  any  state  in  the  union.  In  fact,  your  department  of 
finance  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  United  States. 

"You  will  be  able  to  show  considerable  savings  on  your  purchases, 
even  in  the  face  of  a  market  which  is  most  trying. 

"You  will  be  able  to  show  an  expansion  of  your  humanitarian  work, 
and  an  intelligent  plan  for  the  future. 

"You  will  be  in  a  position  to  show  a  far  more  thorough  and  effective 
execution  of  the  laws  framed  to  support  and  encourage  the  vast  agri- 
cultural and  allied  interests  of  Nebraska. 

"Under  your  department  of  justice  act  all  legal  work  has  been 
concentrated  under  the  attorney-general.  A  most  desirable  reform. 

"The  interests  of  labor  have  been  promoted  and  conserved  more 
efficiently  than  would  have  been  possible  under  the  old  system. 

"The  inspection  work  of  the  state,  in  all  departments,  commands 
particular  approval. 

"As  your  great  system  of  highways  is  developed,  the  advantage  of 
centralized  control  in  your  department  of  public  works  will  command 
more  and  more  attention  and  approval. 

"You  will  be  able  to  present  to  the  next  legislature  a  budget  which 
will,  in  truth,  be  what  budgets  ought  to  be,  a  balance  sheet  and  a  com- 
plete work  program  for  the  ensuing  biennium.  This  budget  your  leg- 
islature can  consider,  approve  or  modify,  with  real  intelligence  of  judg- 
ment and  action.  This  is  a  tremendous  advance. 

"And  lastly,  when  at  the  end  of  the  biennium  you  return  to  the  treas- 
ury, unexpended,  a  considerable  sum  of  money  appropriated  by  the 
1919  legislature,  and  do  this  at  a  time  when  the  average  state  is  'run- 
ning in  the  red'  in  all  departments,  I  think  every  citizen  will  under- 
stand that  the  new  system,  from  the  standpoint  of  cost,  is  more  than 
in  line  with  his  demand  for  economy." 


65 


Increased  Authority  for  the 

Reconstruction  Commission  oj  New  York:  Increased  author- 
ity of  the  Governor  is  recommended  in  no  uncertain  words 
by  the  Reconstruction  Commission  of  New  York,  under  the 
date  of  October  10,  1919: 

"The  only  serious  argument  advanced  against  such  a  proposed 
reorganization  and  budget  system  is  that  it  makes  the  Governor  a  czar. 
The  President  of  the  United  States  has  administrative  power  far  greater 
than  those  here  proposed  to  be  given  to  the  Governor.  The  Mayor  of 
the  City  of  New  York  appoints  and  removes  all  of  the  important  de- 
partment heads,  and  citizens  know  whom  to  hold  accountable.  The 
Governor  does  not  hold  office  by  hereditary  right.  He  is  elected  for  a 
fixed  term  by  universal  suffrage.  He  is  controlled  in  all  minor  appoint- 
ments by  the  civil  service  law.  He  cannot  spend  a  dollar  of  the  public 
money  which  is  not  authorized  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State.  He  is 
subject  to  removal  by  impeachment.  If  he  were  given  the  powers  here 
proposed  he  would  stand  out  in  the  limelight  of  public  opinion  and  scru- 
tiny. Economy  in  administration,  if  accomplished,  would  redound  to 
his  credit.  Waste  and  extravagance  could  be  laid  at  his  door.  Those 
who  cannot  endure  the  medicine  because  it  seems  too  strong  must  be 
content  with  waste,  inefficiency  and  bungling — and  steadily  rising  cost 
of  government.  The  system  here  proposed  is  more  democratic,  not 
more  'royal'  than  that  now  in  existence.  Democracy  does  not  merely 
mean  periodical  elections.  It  means  a  government  held  accountable 
to  the  people  between  elections.  In  order  that  the  people  may  hold  their 
government  to  account  they  must  have  a  government  that  they  can 
understand.  No  citizen  can  hope  to  understand  the  present  collections 
of  departments,  offices,  boards  and  commissions,  or  the  present  methods 
of  appropriating  money.  A  Governor  with  a  Cabinet  of  reasonable 
size,  responsible  for  proposing  a  program  in  the  annual  budget  and  for 
administering  the  program  as  modified  by  the  Legislature  may  be 
brought  daily  under  public  scrutiny,  held  accountable  to  the  Legisla- 
ture and  public  opinion,  and  be  turned  out  of  office  if  he  fails  to  meas- 
ure up  to  public  requirements.  If  this  is  not  democracy  then  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  what  it  is.  The  proposals  here  advanced  are  not  parti- 
san. Republican  leaders  and  Democratic  leaders  of  the  highest  stand- 
ing and  widest  experience  have  endorsed  the  principles  upon  which 
they  rest." 

Survey  Committee  oj  State  Affairs  oj  Colorado:  The  Survey 
Committee  of  State  Affairs  which  investigated  the  government 
of  Colorado  in  1916,  reported: 

"All  administrative  offices  of  the  executive' branch  of  the  govern- 
ment now  appointed  by  the  Governor  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con- 
sent of  the  Senate,  should  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  alone.  All 
subordinate  employes  now  appointed  by  the  Governor  alone,  or  ap- 
pointed by  him  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  should 
be  either  under  civil  service  rules  and  regulations  or  appointed  by  the 
respective  administrative  officers." 

State  Efficiency  and  Trade  Commission  oj  Montana:  Abuse 
of  appointed  power  is  commented  on  by  the  State  Efficiency 
and  Trade  Commission  of  Montana,  in  a  report  to  Governor 
S.  V.  Stewart,  November  1,  1919,  as  follows: 

"The  possibility  of  the  Governor  abusing  his  appointive  power 
would  be  very  remote,  for,  even  if  the  welfare  of  the  State  was  lost 
sight  of,  the  success  of  his  administration  and  the  continuance  of  his 
party  in  power  would  compel  him  to  appoint  the  most  capable  men 
available.  In  the  past  the  voters  of  Montana  have  either  been  very 
fortunate,  or  they  have  shown  excellent  judgment  in  their  selection  of 
a  Governor,  and  we  have  no  doubt  they  will  continue  to  do  so  in  the 
future." 

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